Singapore Sling Water woes By Rennie Loh	フレームで見る  英文をプリントする  脚注をプリントする
水に悩むシンガポール シンガポールの国内で使用する水の半分はマレーシアから輸入されています。しかし、給水価格をめぐる両国間の対立が続いており、政府はマレーシアへの依存を減らそうと、水の自力確保策を模索しています。そして最近、飲料水として利用するよう盛んに奨励されているのが、「ニューウォーター」と呼ばれる、生活排水をリサイクルした水です。

Water is precious and every drop counts. This has been told to me regularly since I was young. Though Singapore is an island city-state surrounded by water, it does not have sufficient fresh water to meet the diverse needs of its some 4 million residents. Water from the taps is potable water that is moderately soft, fluoridated and treated well within the World Health Organization's Guidelines for Drinking Water Quality.

Currently, Singapore buys half of its water supply from Malaysia under a set of Water Agreements, with the other half coming from its own reservoirs and water treatment plants. Out of the 1.2 million cubic meters of water consumed daily, about half goes to industrial and commercial users and the rest for residential usage. The overt reliance of water from Malaysia is a growing concern for the Singaporean government and us, common folks.

On the political front, both the Singaporean and Malaysian governments seem to be always locked in disputes over the price of water, and it seems to be unhealthy to allow one such issue to sour bilateral relations and prevent both countries from cooperating in strategic areas of mutual benefit.

Taking advantage of the surrounding seawater, the authority toyed with the idea of desalination, which is the process of making drinking water by removing salt from seawater. However, desalination projects are hugely pricey and may not be viable in the long run. It seems that a new solution will be put to the test soon.

Since last month, a public education campaign has begun to promote and demystify all the myths around NEWater, water reclaimed from used water. Ministers and senior government officials have been downing bottles of NEWater to demonstrate that reclaimed water is drinkable. Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong led the promotion by drinking a bottle of NEWater after his tennis match.

The NEWater bottles are not yet available for sale, but the idea of drinking reclaimed water passed through stringent recycling systems will take some time for anyone to get used to. This is because the water may be reclaimed from wastewater obtained from less than pristine sources such as household sinks and toilets.

Truthfully, I am adamant and skeptical about NEWater. I will probably use NEWater for washing utensils and bathing, but for cooking and drinking, I will use bottled mineral water. I asked two fellow Singaporeans if they will accept this notion of drinking reclaimed water.

Jenny Lim, a secretary, said, "I am concerned because there are some selfish and inconsiderate people who are operating printing businesses at home and they allow toxic materials like printing chemicals and black ink to flow down from the bathroom."

James Tan, an engineer, welcomed the idea. He said, "Why not? Since the authority has said it is safe to drink. Of course, the thought of drinking reprocessed toilet and dirty water is repugnant. But I am willing to overcome this psychological barrier and support NEWater because it will free Singapore from being dependent on Malaysia for water."

Moreover, the authorities have estimated that with current technologies, the cost of producing a given amount of NEWater is about a half to a third that of desalination. The only hurdle that NEWater has to cross now is public acceptance. A NEWater visitor center is planned to open next year as a way of raising public awareness of its technology and production process.

Two NEWater plants will be up and running by next year, and more plants will be built to meet future water needs, whether industrial or residential. For now, NEWater will be used for industrial purposes. That alone will reduce Singapore's dependence on Malaysia for water greatly. However, in the long run, NEWater technology must be developed to such a point that no one will have any reason to resist drinking it.

Shukan ST: Aug. 23, 2002

(C) All rights reserved