WATER AND CITIES: THE SINGAPORE STORY

WATER AND CITIES:

THE SINGAPORE STORY
LAU YING SHAN MERCY WONG

Water: it is fundamental for life, integral to human

culture, necessary for industrial activities, and
helpful for recreation. While human functioning
is reliant on water, water is also feared, as it can
be a carrier of disease and a force of destruction.
The reverence for water is no less in cities – places
of high populations and dense buildings – where
municipal managers need to be on their toes to
manage water for the city’s functioning, but not be
overwhelmed by water.
Singapore is one example of a city that has been
successful in managing its water resource through
careful planning and meticulous execution. This
city-state in the equatorial region of Asia provides
exciting prospects for its 5.4 million residents who
hail from four main ethnic groups. About half of the
resident non-student population have at least post-
secondary education qualifications1, while the per
capita GDP is $68,5002. Surprisingly, the city-state
is supported by only an area of about 716 square
kilometers located in the equatorial region of Asia.
While the monsoons bring intense, heavy rains,
Singapore’s small land area means it has a limited
water catchment area. Despite these challenges,
Singapore has evolved from being a ‘basket case of
Figure 1: View of the river
urbanisation’ in the 1950s and 60s, to a first-world in downtown Singapore.
city in about half a century. Its success would not Source: Photo by William Cho,
have been possible without good governance and via Wikimedia Commons
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
management of water, an essential foundation for File:Singapore_River_where_it_
human development. all_begins.jpg]

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‘TAMING’ WATER they blew up the water pipes that brought the
water supply from Skudai and Gunung Pulai in Jo-
In the early 1960s, Singapore had a population hor to Singapore, and left us with only two reser-
of less than 2 million people.3 As the population voirs which would not suffice for more than two
boomed post-World War II, slums proliferated in weeks. And so even if the British had all the will
the city centre, creating unhygienic and unpleas- and guts of 90,000 British troops, Indian troops
ant living conditions. Backyard industries, farms, and Australian troops to put up a fight, it was
and overhanging latrines fed immense amounts not possible…… thirsty men cannot fight,” he re-
of waste to the Singapore River. High monsoon counted in 20085.
rainfall frequently stalled activities; flooding in Water was an existential issue, a matter of life
low-lying areas such as Bukit Timah Road pre- and death. Hence, the two water agreements with
vented children from attending school. Malaysia, signed in 1961 and 1962 respectively,
A former crown colony of the British Empire, were enshrined in the 1965 separation treaty be-
Singapore already had some basic water infra- tween Singapore and Malaysia6.
structure. MacRitchie reservoir, Seletar reservoir, Water was also needed to support the eco-
and Peirce reservoir were developed by the British. nomic development of the young, industrialising
Water pipes across the causeway also transported nation. The question of Singapore’s water self-suf-
water from neighbouring Johor (in the present ficiency was posed to a team of engineers, who
Peninsula Malaysia) to Singapore. Basic public in 1971 formed the Water Planning Unit which
services were provided by the Municipal City reported directly to the Prime Minister. This team
Council; trucks with ’32 doors’ transported night was tasked to develop the Water Master Plan and
soil collected from villages to sewage treatment was highly committed to its objective. For ex-
plants. To alleviate the disruptive floods, efforts ample, two members of the team, Mr Lee Ek Tieng
were undertaken to improve public drainage in and Mr Tan Gee Paw, eventually, at different per-
Singapore, such as the establishment of the ‘Joint iods, became the Permanent Secretaries of Singa-
Committee on Flood Alleviation’ in 1951 to cen- pore’s Ministry of the Environment. The water
tralise and coordinate flood management4, under agenda also had support at the highest level of
the government’s Public Works Department. One government. “Every other policy had to bend at
valuable engineering legacy implemented by the the knees for our water survival” recalled Mr Lee
British was the separation of the stormwater col- Kuan Yew.
lection and sewage systems; drains only captured The Water Master Plan of 1972 charted a vision
rainwater, enabling, much later, the creation of for Singapore’s water self-sufficiency. It included
urban water catchments. several unconventional proposals such as turning
Decolonisation plans called for Singapore to be the island into an urban water catchment, the rec-
part of the new Malaysia, in which the city-state lamation of water from sewage, and desalination.
would formally merge with neighbouring Malaya However, technology of the time was too costly
as well as North Borneo and Sarawak. However, to make the latter two objectives feasible, but the
less than two years after being part of the newly- proposal to develop urban water catchments was
independent Malaysia, Singapore separated from implemented.
Malaysia in a sudden turn of events in 1965. The In the first step of transforming Singapore into
vulnerability of the small new nation-state with- an urban catchment, activities and industries that
out a hinterland to rely on was not lost on its lead- caused water pollution were curtailed. From 1977
ers, who acted quickly to ensure that the founda- to 1987, the landmark clean-up of the Singapore
tions for the country’s survival were taken care of. River and Kallang Basin relocated street hawkers
Foremost amongst the various concerns for and slum-dwellers to hawker centres and public
Singapore was its water security. Then Prime housing. Pig farms, which produced highly-pol-
Minister Mr Lee Kuan Yew had not forgotten how luted discharge, were phased out in 1984. To pro-
water was a lever in forcing Singapore to sur- tect water catchments from industrial pollution, a
render during the Second World War. “When the ‘negative list’ prevented polluting industries from
Japanese reached Johor in early February 1942, ‘setting up shop’ in Singapore. A cap on urbanisa-

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Figure 2: Singapore River in 1977, before the river clean-up.

Source: Urban Redevelopment Authority, Singapore

tion was also imposed to keep land use intensity of water to households no longer necessitated
at 34.1% of the land area in unprotected catch- water rationing. By 1982, Singapore was con-
ment areas, as planners were cautious about the sidered malaria-free. Five years later, it no longer
impacts of urban development on the integrity of relied on night soil collection for sewage manage-
water catchments.7 ment.8 In 1987 the clean-up of the Singapore Riv-
As the urban landscape rapidly developed in er was completed, and the first Mass Rapid Tran-
the 1970s and 1980s, the drainage and the sewer- sit stations were opened. In stark contrast to just
age teams of the Ministry of the Environment twenty years earlier, when only 45% of primary
worked to quickly put in the necessary infrastruc- school students made it to secondary school, 94%
ture before residential and industrial develop- of all school-age Singaporeans completed both
ments were built. Then, engineers faced a slew of primary and secondary school education.9
challenges. On top of addressing existing prob- Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is not absent from
lems such as the reduction of flood area, these Singapore’s development history. As the more
teams had to pre-empt the challenges that would fundamental concerns such as the provision of
arise from urbanisation, such as increased flood- basic public health services, water and electricity
ing. Besides addressing environmental problems, supply, education and housing were addressed,
the functions of drainage and sewerage would Singapore was able to focus on more ambitious
eventually also serve the purpose of water supply targets. It now had the resources to realise the
for Singapore. other parts of the vision set out in the 1972 Water
Master Plan.
A MATURING NATION A key development to boosting water self-
sufficiency in Singapore was the innovation of
By the 1990s, Singapore had come a long way in NEWater, which is water reclaimed from treated
its development, driven by the commitment of wastewater (or ‘used water’) through the re-
public service leaders to ensure the city-state’s verse osmosis process. Singapore had already
survival and provide better prospects for its cit- considered the idea of recycling water since the
izens. For example, a steady, continuous supply 1970s. However, the breakthrough in water rec-

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lamation technologies only occurred in the 1990s, plants’. The PUB also engaged the media and com-
when manufacturers were able to produce mem- munity leaders to help instil public confidence in
branes of good quality and at lower costs. With the water reclamation process, and established a
more reliable and more affordable technologies, visitors’ centre to explain the stringent water treat-
the Public Utilities Board (PUB) stepped up its ef- ment process and why NEWater is safe to drink. In
forts at making the recycling of water in Singa- 2002, NEWater made its official debut when then
pore a reality. In 2000, the PUB embarked on two Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong led 60,000 people
years of intensive trials at a demonstration water in a toast to Singapore with NEWater at the Na-
reclamation plant. In addition, cross-border polit- tional Day Parade in 2002.
ical tension with Malaysia in 2001 put threatening Because NEWater is ultra-pure, it is preferred for
clouds over water supply from Malaysia and trig- use by wafer fabrication plants. Today, NEWater
gered the push for the development of recycled has mainly been used for industrial and air-con-
water as an alternative water source. ditioning cooling purposes at wafer fabrication
A key obstacle, however, was the ‘yuck factor’ parks, industrial estates, and commercial buildings
associated with reclaiming water. To encourage in Singapore. To ensure the reliability of this water
public acceptance, the term ‘used water’ is used resource, an extensive range of tests, amounting
in place of ‘wastewater’ to reflect the mindset that to more than 110,000 to date, and internal and
water can be re-used. In Singapore, the more posi- external audits are conducted regularly to ensure
tive name ‘NEWater’ was given, and sewage treat- that NEWater continues to meet international
ment plants were rebranded as ‘water reclamation drinking water standards.

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Figure 3 (left): Treated used As an extra precaution, the Figure 4 (top): The Marina Figure 5 (bottom): An organ-
water enters the microfiltration water is passed through Barrage separates the Marina ised kayaking activity in the
modules on the left, before high-intensity ultraviolet Channel from the sea, thus Marina Reservoir. It is organ-
going through reverse osmosis light for disinfection. The creating a freshwater reservoir ised by residents in Kolam Ayer,
on the right. The reverse product is NEWater, a high- a neighbourhood adjacent to
osmosis process is able to grade reclaimed water that is the Kallang River which flows
separate water molecules from ultra-clean and safe to drink. into the Marina Reservoir.
dissolved solids, viruses, and Source: PUB, Singapore’s Source: PUB, Singapore’s
bacteria, producing pure water. national water agency national water agency

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During the 1990s Singapore also started ex- reflected the strong will and focus on water self-
ploring desalination as another source of water. sufficiency in Singapore.
In 2005 Singapore’s first desalination plant was Beyond water supply, Singapore also re-
opened, as the PUB’s inaugural public-private cognised the importance of managing water
partnership project (PPP), with the capacity to demand. The ‘Water is Precious’ campaigns from
produce 30 million gallons of water per day. This the 1970s, which aimed to nurture water-saving
new water source added to the city-state’s capabil- habits, have evolved into a slew of multi-pronged,
ities to be more self-reliant and sustainable. stakeholder-specific initiatives today to encour-
The Marina Barrage was another key develop- age water conservation, such as the 10-Litre Chal-
ment. It was originally conceived by former Prime lenge, which encourages residents to reduce their
Minister Lee Kuan Yew as a drainage project at the daily water consumption by 10 litres.11 The idea,
mouth of the Marina Channel to alleviate flood- still, is for people to recognise the importance of
ing in the low-lying central area of Singapore. water and to actively do their part to reduce water
With improvements in membrane technology consumption. The role of pricing as an economic
and falling costs of operations and maintenance, signal to consumers was also recognised. In 2000,
it became possible to treat raw water from this water prices were adjusted to reflect the marginal
highly-urbanised catchment which comprised cost of water. In addition, mandatory measures
about one-sixth of Singapore’s total land area. The were introduced, such as the use of water-efficient
idea was extended to create a freshwater reser- appliances. The water agency has also meticulous-
voir at the heart of the city by building a barrage ly controlled the amount of water lost through its
across the Marina Channel, boosting Singapore’s own network of pipes, bringing unaccounted-for-
water supply while also acting as a tidal barrier. In water in Singapore down to just about 5%.12
addition, it was designed as a lifestyle attraction to
optimise its function in the city area; what could WATER AS AN
have been a grey utilitarian facility now houses a ENVIRONMENTAL ASSET
gallery, water playground and food outlets, with
an open-air, green rooftop serving as public space As Singapore matured, the priorities of its people
for families and the community. The barrage also evolved. The 2001 Concept Plan, which guides
regulates water levels at the Marina Reservoir and long-term physical development for the next
the waterways in its catchment, facilitating water forty to fifty years, outlined a vision for Singa-
activities such as kayaking and dragon-boating. pore as a ‘great place to ‘live, work, and play’. It
These developments in the 1990s and 2000s recognised that there was a need to provide
required different functional lines in the public more lifestyle and recreational options for Singa-
service to work together. For example, NEWater poreans. In land-scarce Singapore, this meant
required close collaboration between PUB, which optimising land use not only to advance Singa-
looked after water supply and the regulation of pore’s development as a vibrant city, but also to
electricity and gas, and the former Sewerage De- enhance Singaporeans’ sense of ownership and
partment under the Ministry of the Environment. rootedness to the city-state.
Operating the Marina Barrage also meant that Several initiatives were explored to ensure that
PUB and the former Drainage Department under water policies and infrastructure supported the
the Ministry of Environment needed to work optimisation of land use. For example, the urbani-
together. To streamline these functions, PUB was sation cap was lifted in 1999, when it was shown
reconstituted in 2001 so that it would have a hol- that water quality in reservoirs did not deteriorate
istic overview of all water-related functions. The significantly despite development in their catch-
electricity and gas regulation functions of the old ments. In addition, the odour buffer distance
PUB were subsumed under the Energy Market Au- between developments and water reclamation
thority, also formed in 2001.10 On the other hand, plants was reduced when the plants were cov-
the Drainage and Sewerage Departments from ered up.
the old Ministry of the Environment were moved More significantly, the Deep Tunnel Sewerage
under the charge of PUB. This institutional shift System collects used water via a system of deep

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Figure 6 (top): Parks and Figure 7 (bottom): Kayakers at

Waterbodies Plan 2002. This MacRitchie Reservoir.
is Singapore’s first Parks and Source: PUB, Singapore’s
Waterbodies Plan, designed national water agency
to guide the development
of Singapore’s parks and
waterbodies for a more liveable
city. It has since been updated
by revised editions of the plan.

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Figure 8: The mangrovelined Sungei Api

Api flowing through a housing estate in
Pasir Ris, a town in the northeastern part
of Singapore. Source: PUB, Singapore’s
national water agency

tunnels for treatment at a centralised water rec- tivities in 2004, and kayaking was introduced at
lamation plant at Changi, in the eastern tip of MacRitchie and Bedok Reservoirs. These efforts
Singapore. With this system, some of the conven- made water bodies more accessible to the pub-
tional water reclamation plants in various loca- lic, bringing people closer to water, and allowing
tions across Singapore were decommissioned, them to appreciate the importance of Singapore’s
thereby freeing up valuable land for other uses. water resources – a stark contrast to the earlier
Water bodies and water catchment areas be- days when reservoirs were out-of-bounds.
came recognized as lifestyle and recreational Drains and waterways were also part of the
places for the Singaporean community, particu- equation for improving the quality of life in
larly since the major woes of overcoming water Singapore. To keep up with the rapid pace of de-
scarcity had substantially been addressed. In velopment in the 1970s and 1980s, drains were
2002, the Parks and Waterbodies Plan mapped constructed in the fastest ways possible to al-
out previously unexplored areas for recreational leviate and pre-empt flooding. This resulted in
activities. For example, trails and boardwalks a network of concrete, utilitarian-looking canals.
were introduced in the Central Catchment area It was the mission of the Water Bodies Design
surrounding MacRitchie Reservoir. Landscaped Panel in the 1990s to improve the aesthetics of
linear pathways, or the Park Connector Network, the drains in Singapore, using methods such as
linked one park to another and were mostly lo- installing railings with aesthetic design, retain-
cated along major waterways. In the same vein, ing water in the drainage channel, and using
PUB opened up its reservoirs for recreational ac- foliage to mask the dry canal.13 The mangrove-

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LAU YING SHAN · MERCY WONG

Kranji Reservoir

Punggol
Reservoir
Lower Seletar
Reservoir

Serangoon
Reservoir

MacRitchie
Reservoir
Jurong Lake Bedok Reservoir

Pandan Reservoir

Marina Reservoir Completed Projects

Upcoming Projects
Sentosa
ABC Waters Certified Projects
by Public and Private Agencies

Figure 9: Singapore has an extensive network Singapore’s reservoirs, inculcate a greater

of about 8,000km of waterways. Leveraging community appreciation of Singapore’s
on this vast network to enhance liveability, precious resource, as well as improve the
the Active, Beautiful, Clean Waters programme aesthetics of the urban environment. Source:
helps to cleanse urban runoff entering PUB, Singapore’s national water agency.

BEFORE AFTER

Figure 10: Before its redevelopment, the together to revitalise and integrate this stretch
stretch of the Kallang River along Bishan Park of the Kallang River with Bishan Park, creating a
divided the towns of Ang Mo Kio and Bishan. naturalised, meandering river
The National Parks Board and PUB worked Source: PUB, Singapore’s national water agency

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Figure 11 (top): Students Figure 12 (bottom): Learning

learn about the importance of about the flora and fauna in
conserving water and keeping a waterway. Source: Source:
Singapore’s waterways clean PUB, Singapore’s national
during an Active, Beautiful, water agency.
Clean Waters Learning Trail at
Lower Seletar Reservoir. Source:
Public Source: PUB, Singapore’s
national water agency.

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LAU YING SHAN · MERCY WONG

lined Sungei Api Api is one signature project Building up interest in water
which was steered by the Panel. When the resi- The opening up of reservoirs for recreational ac-
dential development in the Pasir Ris area was tivities and the ABC Waters programme enabled
proposed, marginally more land was allocated the PUB to take a different approach to public
to Sungei Api Api than if it had been designed as education. The availability of such outdoor spaces
a concrete channel. This meant that Sungei Api near water allowed for more participatory, place-
Api could accommodate the mangroves whilst based learning to take place. This was a more en-
meeting drainage needs. In addition, the Water gaging (and less propagandistic) way to convey
Bodies Design Panel commented on develop- the two main messages of conserving water and
ment proposals to ensure that developments keeping water catchments clean to the various
near to waterways undertook efforts to beautify stakeholders in the country. It also encouraged
the adjacent drains and canals. joint ownership of water among the public, pri-
In 2006, PUB launched the Active, Beautiful, vate, and people sectors.
Clean Waters (ABC Waters) programme, with the The importance of generating interest in water
objectives of providing new community spaces, was recognised, not only to cultivate desirable
integrating reservoirs and waterways with the habits, but also to nurture a new generation of
urban landscape, and improving water quality. people dedicated to addressing water challenges.
On the one hand, the ABC Waters design fea- An offshoot of Singapore’s earlier investments in
tures, such as rain gardens, bio-retention swales, water technologies was the emergence of a thriv-
and constructed wetlands improve water quality ing cluster of water companies based in Singa-
in the urban environment. On the other hand, it
was a platform for what is now known as blue-
green infrastructure in the city. The ABC Waters Figure 13: The Singapore
projects led by the PUB incorporated hydro- International Water Week is
a platform where thought
logical, ecological, and community considera- leadership on water sustainability
tions in their design. For example, the Kallang is exercised (top) and where ideas
River @ Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park, a flagship pro- can be exchanged between water
practitioners from across the globe
ject under the ABC Waters programme, has been (bottom). Source: PUB, Singapore’s
transformed from a utilitarian-looking concrete national water agency.
canal into a naturalised stream.
Similar to how developers were instrumen-
tal in the agenda of the Water Bodies Design
Panel, the PUB recognised that influencing the
developers, who are key to shaping the physical
landscape of urban Singapore, was important
for the ABC Waters programme to be truly suc-
cessful. The ABC Waters Design Guidelines serve
as a reference for partners in the urban develop-
ment industry to incorporate ABC Waters fea-
tures in their projects. In 2010, the ABC Waters
Certification scheme was started as an incentive
to recognise public and private sector organisa-
tions that embrace the ABC Waters concept in
their developments. In addition, the ABC Waters
Professional programme was launched the next
year. Targeted at development practitioners, it
aims to build up competencies, covering a spec-
trum of skills from the design and conceptualisa-
tion to the implementation and maintenance of
blue-green infrastructure.

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pore, such as Hyflux, Keppel Seghers, and Sem- change will have an impact on water resources,
bcorp. The seed for a thriving water industry in bringing about more intense rainfall, but also
Singapore had been sowed. In 2006, the Environ- more extreme dry spells. One the one hand,
ment and Water Industry Programme Office was more frequent events of more intense rainfall
set up to further promote research and develop- challenge Singapore’s drainage capacity. On the
ment in environmental and water technologies. other hand, Singapore also recently experienced
Also, the Singapore International Water Week was dry periods in 2010 and 2014, with February 2014
launched in 2008 to bring together people in the being the driest month since the 1869. Amidst a
water sector from around the world to exchange denser urban environment and more uncertain
best practices in water administration. Riding on weather patterns, novel ways are needed to keep
Singapore’s knowledge and experience in water the city-state liveable and sustainable.
management, these initiatives helped to support A present challenge is that Singapore’s drain-
Singapore’s knowledge-based economy. age and sewerage infrastructure, put in place
More importantly, these initiatives set up a vir- some thirty to forty years ago, is ageing and
tuous cycle of water innovation, and contribute needs to be improved. A substantial amount of
to capacity-building in solving water challenges excavation needs to be done in public spaces
around the world. The biennial Singapore Inter- to replace old underground pipes or to expand
national Water Week 2014 achieved $14.5 billion drains. However, due to tight space constraints in
in awarded projects, tenders, investments and urban Singapore, this will possibly disrupt traffic
memoranda of understanding concluded at the and cause disturbance to residents. Concurrently,
event, thereby reinforcing cities’ commitment Singaporeans today demand faster information
to developing sustainable water solutions14. As flow and are more questioning. Project engineers
former Prime Minister Mr Lee Kuan Yew said, “We therefore not only need to navigate a more chal-
did not do this by ourselves. We climbed on other lenging work environment, but also need to be
people’s shoulders. We brought this [technology] prepared to manage higher public expectations.
together and improved on them. We’re happy In addition, there are constraints to the extent
to have people climb on our shoulders, whether to which infrastructure can be improved, espe-
they are from the Middle East, China,India… It’s cially if the efficacy of the infrastructure is closely
a collaborative effort. The world will need this coupled with the amount of space it occupies. In
because what we have assumed was limitless 2011, drainage design standards in PUB’s Code of
— endless supplies of water — is not so. We’ve Practice on Surface Water Drainage were raised
found it not to be so, and that we’ve got a way to cater for higher-intensity storms. However,
out of it.”15 in a densely-built urban environment, there are
limitations to the degree to which drains can
KEEPING SINGAPORE LIVEABLE be widened. Whilst the public drainage system
AND SUSTAINABLE will be improved as far as possible, PUB’s holistic
“source-pathway-receptor” approach also looks
In 2013, the government of Singapore published at other localised measures to enhance flood pro-
a population White Paper, which anticipated tection.16 These will become more important so
a possible population increase of 1.5 million as to build in more adaptability and flexibility in
people by 2030, above the current population of the face of climate change. For example, deten-
5.4 million. To support a growing population and tion tanks can help to store excess stormwater
economy, water demand in 2060 is expected to during a storm event. In Opera Estate, a low-lying
almost double from the current 400 million gal- part of eastern Singapore which used to experi-
lons a day. This increased demand will be met by ence frequent floods, there is a detention tank
increases in energy-reliant NEWater and desalin- located under a school field which temporarily
ated water which will constitute up to 55% and stores the overflow from the Opera Estate Out-
25% of Singapore’s water supply. let Drain during heavy rain. As another example,
Singapore’s total land area, however, will not blue-green elements such as the ABC Waters de-
increase substantially. Furthermore, climate sign features which can retain water also help in

254 ISOCARP
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Figure 14 (top): In fifty years,

the non-domestic sector will
constitute 70% of Singapore’s
water demand, while the
domestic sector will constitute
30% of demand. NEWater
production and desalination
will be ramped up to meet this
growing demand, comprising
55% and 25% of Singapore’s
water supply respectively.
Source: Public Utilities Board,
Singapore

Figure 15 (bottom): PUB’s

holistic “source-pathway-
receptor” approach to
stormwater management aims
to build in more adaptability
and flexibility to Singapore’s
drainage systems. ‘Source’
solutions slow down runoff from
developments into the public
drainage system, ‘pathway’
solutions increase the capacity
of existing canals, and ‘receptor’
solutions protect infrastructure
from being flooded
Source: PUB, Singapore’s
national water agency.

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overall stormwater management, and soften the

urban landscape.
The challenges posed by a denser living environ-
ment and a growing population and economy are
not new: Singapore had already been continu-
ously tackling them as far back as 1965 when it
needed to build a new nation that aligned with
the aspirations of a generation of post-war baby-
boomers. Through foresight, meticulous plan-
ning and execution, and good urban governance,
Singapore has been able to meet the needs of its
people. Adapting to climate change and a more
inquiring population are among the new factors
in the ‘ball game’, and these can be embraced with Figure 16: A raingarden at
similar governance principles and tools. Balam Estate in Singapore,
where runoff is first filtered
The ability to transform water from a scarce through densely planted
resource into an environmental and economic surface vegetation and then
asset in about half a century is testament to what through an engineered filter
media later.
Singapore has achieved so far, and what it can Source: PUB, Singapore’s
achieve in the future. national water agency.

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Figure 17: The Centre for Liveable

Cities (CLC) developed the CLC
Liveability Framework, which distils key
learning points from Singapore’s urban
development experience to serve
as a guide on how to plan and build
liveable cities. What has thus far helped
to achieve Singapore’s outcomes of a
Sustainable Environment, Competitive
Economy, and High Quality of Life, are
10 implicit principles grounded by 2
key pillars: Integrated Master Planning
and Development, and Dynamic Urban
Governance 17
Source: Centre for Liveable Cities,
Singapore

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THE RELATIONSHIP
BETWEEN WATER
AND THE CITY

“Thirsty men cannot fight.” These words by Singa- Figure 18: Water, a precious
resource and an environmental
pore’s first Prime Minister Mr Lee Kuan Yew sum-
asset that Singaporeans value
marise the essential importance of water to hu- and enjoy.
man survival. It is on this foundation that cities, Source: Public PUB, Singapore’s
national water agency.
which are dense agglomerations of people, are
built. And cities prosper when water can be har-
nessed to support industrial activities.
But cities today also need to shed the image
of dense, polluted, inequitable, and unpleasant
living environments that hark of the Industrial
Revolution. They should be, instead, places for
creativity and human progress, where residents
can feel a sense of pride. Water has phenomenal
potential to transform cities in this way, as it can
soften the city’s appearance, cool the city, serve as
spaces for recreational and community activities,
and provide nodes of habitat for urban biodivers-
ity. Because it connects emotionally with people,
it can inspire the reflective individual, and calm
Endnotes
the pressured, busy city soul. 1 Department of Statistics Singapore 2013. Population Trends 2013.
Singapore sought to overcome its water scar- Available from: http://www.singstat.gov.sg/publications/publications_
and_papers/population_and_population_structure/population2013.
city through pragmatic long-term planning and pdf [29 April 2014]
2 Department of Statistics Singapore 2014. Latest Data. Available from:
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