Thanks Manila B for the article you are absolute right to say that "Singapore is completely dependent on neighboring Malaysia for its water supply".
Without natural freshwater lakes, the primary domestic source of water in Singapore is rainfall, collected in reservoirs or water catchment areas and of course, like you say our neighbor. The first desalination plant was build on 2005 and Singapore’s national water agency PUB called an open tender for the republic’s second and largest desalination plant to be built and be completed by 2013, the plant will add another 70 million gallons or 318,500 cubic metres of desalinated water a day to the nation’s water supply.
Hopefully, by 2060, Singapore plans to triple the current Newater capacity so that Newater can meet 50 per cent of its future water demand. There are also plans to ramp up desalination capacity by almost 10 times so that desalinated water will meet at least 30 per cent of its water demand in the long term.
When I was in Sante Fe I was amazed at all those fresh water that free flow from the mountain, so I decided to asked an old man operating a "sara sara" store how long he had been using the water supply he reply casually in Inokalo "ubbog" and he had been staying there for the past 83 years. Free water without paying a cent that really blown my mind away !
Posted by ManilaB
MANILA, Philippines - Some analysts have warned that the next wars would be fought over fresh water. That shouldn’t be a problem for the Philippines, which is blessed with an abundance of lakes, rivers and waterfalls, and annual rainfall that is often unusually heavy.
Yet with the start of the typhoon season, fresh water is being rationed in one of two sectors served by private concessionaires in Metro Manila, and residents have been warned that the problem could get worse. Maynilad, which serves the western sector where many homes are not yet connected to its system, announced yesterday that water rationing could continue beyond the original schedule of Friday if rain does not fall soon to raise water level in Angat Dam, the company’s principal source. Maynilad has had to tap water from La Mesa Dam, the source of the other concessionaire, Manila Water, to augment supply to the western sector.
Affected households have seen their water supply reduced to a few hours daily, or worse, completely cut off, compelling residents to buy expensive water from independent suppliers or depend on free rations from Maynilad. The problem is galling particularly coming on the heels of flooding and blackouts caused by typhoon Basyang. Many other households in Metro Manila have not yet been reached by the private concessionaires and have always endured unreliable water supply. Still, people in the capital should count themselves lucky. Outside Metro Manila and other urban centers, millions of Filipinos are still dependent on communal artesian wells for their water needs.
How long will it take to address this problem? This looks more like a problem of management rather than a genuine lack of fresh water sources. Singapore is completely dependent on neighboring Malaysia for its water supply, but everyone in the city-state gets water so clean you can drink it straight from the tap around the clock. The Singaporeans, however, are preparing for the possibility that their water supply could drop to a trickle. Countries less affluent than Singapore, or without access to a neighbor with fresh water to spare, are also moving to ensure a reliable supply of fresh water.
The Philippines, blessed with natural resources, must move quickly to preserve its water sources from pollution and destruction as a result of indiscriminate development. At the same time that the sources are being preserved, the nation must improve its system of extracting and distributing fresh water. President Aquino acknowledged yesterday serious problems in the nation’s water and energy supplies, but said the problems have not reached crisis proportions. The nation could get there unless decisive measures are undertaken soon.
