Mr Masagos also announced measures to promote the use of more efficient fittings and appliances, such as the phasing out of less water-efficient taps and mixers.
To further enhance Singapore’s water supply resilience, plans for a fifth desalination plant on Jurong Island are being considered by PUB, said Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Masagos Zulkifli in Parliament on Tuesday (Apr 12).
Currently, there are two desalination plants, with a third and a fourth – situated in Tuas and Marina East respectively – being built.
Even as the Government plans ahead to strengthen the drought resilience of Singapore’s water supply in the face of climate change, the public and industries must do their part to prevent water wastage, said Mr Masagos, in his Ministry’s Committee of Supply debate.
“Over the years, we have made some progress in water efficiency. In 2014, we used 150 litres per person per day, down from 165 litres in 2003. However, this rebounded to 151 litres last year,” he said.
“As we strive towards our SSB (Sustainable Singapore Blueprint) target of 140 litres by 2030, everyone needs do (their) part by adopting more water saving habits and making use of more water-efficient technology.”
MEASURES FOR MORE WATER-EFFICIENT WASHING MACHINES, TAPS
To this end, Mr Masagos said two measures to promote the use of more efficient fittings and appliances will be implemented in early 2017.
First, the Government will introduce a 4-tick rating for washing machines, so that households can select the more water efficient machines from among the current 3-tick models. Washing machines today are labelled with two or three ticks, said Mr Masagos.
Second, 0-tick taps and mixers will be phased out, to allow for only taps and mixers with 1-tick or more to be sold or supplied.
“These are part of our plans to eventually phase out less efficient fittings and appliances by 2018. We will be consulting the industry on these plans,” he added.
With respect to commercial water use, Mr Masago gave an update that more than 600 large water users have submitted their plans to improve water efficiency and reduce water consumption. The submission of these plans, known as Water Efficiency Management Plans (WEMP), have been mandatory for large water users since Jan 2015.
He added that PUB will study the data collected from the WEMP, with the aim of developing water efficiency benchmarks and good practice guidelines.
Singapore’s water demand is projected to double by 2060, according to Mr Masagos, with the non-domestic sector accounting for 70 per cent of future water demand.
Source: Channel News Asia
