Water Reclamation and Reuse in Singapore
This article has been corrected.
VIEW CORRECTIONPublication: Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 146, Issue 4
Abstract
Singapore is a highly water-stressed country, and securing an adequate water supply has always been an important task for the government. Water reclamation and reuse attempted in 1966 were not a success because of the costly and unreliable technology. Fortunately, in 2003, advances in membrane technology enabled water reclamation and reuse to become both technically and economically feasible. Currently, reclaimed water accounts for 40% of the water supply in Singapore and is projected by the government to account for a larger proportion in the future. Some of the lessons learned and issues with the development of water reclamation and reuse in Singapore are briefly discussed.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Data Availability Statement
All data, models, and code generated or used during the study appear in the published article.
Acknowledgments
The permission by the Singapore Public Utilities Board for the use of all the figures and tables is gratefully acknowledged.
References
Cao, Y. S., B. H. Kwok, A. Z. M. Noraini, C. L. Lau, I. Zulkifli, S. C. Chua, Y. L. Wah, and A. G. Yahya. 2014. “Mainstream partial nitration-anammox nitrogen removal in the largest activated sludge process and comparisons with other BNR activated sludge process in Singapore.” In Proc., IWA World Water Congress. London: International Water Association.
Cao, Y. S., B. H. Kwok, M. C. M. van Loosdrecht, G. T. Daigger, H. Y. Png, Y. L. Wah, S. C. Chua, and A. G. Yahya. 2016. “Mainstream partial nitration and anammox in a activated sludge process in Singapore: Scale-down by using laboratory fed-batch reactor.” In Proc., Water Science & Technology, 1–9. London: IWA Publishing.
Cao, Y. S., Y. L. Wah, C. M. Ang, and K. S. Raajeevan. 2008. Biological nitrogen removal activated sludge process in warm climates: Full-scale process investigation, scaled-down laboratory experimentation and mathematical modeling. London: IWA Publishing.
Guan, Y. K., and S. Toh. 2012. “From zero to hero: NEWater wins public confidence in Singapore.” In Water sensitive cities, edited by C. Howe and C. Mitchell, 139–146. London: IWA Publishing.
Kog, Y. C. 2015. “Transboundary urban water: The case of Singapore and Malaysia.” In Understanding and managing urban water in transition, global issues in water policy, edited by Q. Grafton, K. Daniell, C. Nauges, J. D. Rinaudo, and N. W. W. Chan, 687. Dordrecht, Netherlands: Springer.
Lotti, T., R. Kleerebezem, C. Lubello, and M. C. Loosdrecht. 2014. “Physiological and kinetic characterization of a suspended cell anammox culture.” Water Res. 60 (Sep): 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2014.04.017.
Maddocks, A., R. S. Young, and P. Reig. 2015. “Ranking the world’s most water-stressed countries in 2040.” Accessed August 9, 2018. http://www.wri.org/blog/2015/08/ranking-world%E2%80%99s-most-water-stressed-countries-2040.
Metcalf, L., and H. Eddy. 2003. Wastewater engineering treatment and reuse. 4th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Ou, G. L., B. H. Kwok, Y. N. Zhang, and Y. S. Cao. 2012. “Excellent nitrogen removal performance of full-scale step-feed activated sludge process of municipal wastewater treatment in Singapore.” In Proc., Water Convention. Singapore: Singapore International Water Week.
Postel, S. 1993. “Water scarcity spreading.” In Vital signs: Trends that are shaping our future 1993/1994, edited by L. R. Brown, H. Kane, and E. Ayres. London: World Watch Institute.
PUB (Singapore’s National Water Agency). 2017. “PUB NEWater quality (typical value).” Accessed July 31, 2019. https://www.pub.gov.sg/watersupply/waterquality/newater.
PUBS (Singapore’s National Water Agency). 2019. “Qualified Persons Portal.” Accessed July 31, 2019. https://www.pub.gov.sg/.
Simson, I. 1970. Singapore—Too little, too late: The failure of Malaya’s defence in 1942. Singapore: Asia Pacific Press.
Tully, S. 2000. “Water, water everywhere.” Fortune 141 (10): 69–78.
WHO (World Health Organization). 2017. Guidelines for drinking-water quality, first addendum to the fourth edition, 123. Geneva: WHO.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 146 • Issue 4 • April 2020
Copyright
©2020 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Published online: Feb 12, 2020
Published in print: Apr 1, 2020
Discussion open until: Jul 12, 2020
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.