As climate change threatens to end sixty years of water security in Singapore, residents consider water’s changing role in challenging times
‘In Singapore, water is often viewed as a very precious commodity, and it has been actively promoted by the government to actively save water’ TJ tells me as we chat in one of the common rooms at our college. He tells me that Singapore’s water conservation policies have left a personal mark on him, teaching him that water is a precious resource to be conserved. But he also tells me that, in contrast with government policies, his childhood experiences of playing in the island’s exposed drains (known colloquially as longkang) gave him a far deeper appreciation of the value of water. ‘They helped to create a giant [natural] aquarium for a little child to play in … I understood even then as a child how important water was in sustaining these life forms, and it wasn’t just the animals: I also noted the different types of vegetation growing in the storm water drains as well’. Contrasting what policies had taught him, TJ tells me how his personal experiences showed him that water wasn’t just a commodity for us to use, but the sine qua non[1] of the world. Playing in the island’s water catchments and streams and seeing the amphibious life there, the young TJ gained a profound appreciation for the value of water as something beyond just a tool for human exploitation.
On an island as small as Singapore, obtaining enough water to sustain the lives and livelihoods of nearly six million people is an incredibly difficult task. For the past six decades, Singapore has achieved this through effective policies of capture, storage, desalination and recycling of water, and through imports from neighbouring Malaysia.[2] While Singapore’s water supply has historically increased at a slower rate than its growing population’s demand, the national government has continuously negotiated this by reducing demand at an individual level. By educating its residents on the value of water and encouraging them to decrease consumption, the amount of water available to the nation has been shared more broadly among its growing population. Besides occasional shortages, this process has been successful: in 2000, the average Singaporean consumed 165 litres of water a year, and by 2018, that figure stood at 141 litres per year.2 Because of this, Singapore’s population has been able to grow from four to nearly six million people during this period, all without any major water stress.[3, 4]
However, while Singapore has historically been able to limit consumption to ensure continued water security despite population growth, the growing threat of climate change may render this system insufficient. While high rainfalls caused by a three-year-long La Niña event have lately kept reservoirs at a healthy level, Dr. Ong Wei Chong, head of National Security Studies at Nanyang Technological University, fears that the recent run of good luck is masking an impending threat, stating that: ‘If left unmitigated, extreme and volatile weather events resulting from climate change will cause water scarcity, pollute water sources and increase the unpredictability of water supply.’[4]
As Dr. Ong outlines, climate change doesn’t just mean that rainfalls will decline; extreme weather events will become more common too. These also pose a risk to water security. Floods, for example, can cause pollution to water supplies through erosion or saltwater intrusion. Further stress will come as prices of clean water increase as supply declines, significantly straining the state’s national budget if it is still reliant on water imports. On top of this, Singapore’s population is projected to grow by 400,000 people by 2050, further straining the system.[3]
To negotiate this threat, Singapore’s government is launching a two-pronged attack. On one hand, the government is seeking to further reduce consumption and preserve water, setting the target for water consumption in 2030 at 130 litres (per person per year) while on the other it is starting to increase its water recycling and desalination capacities.[4] In doing so, it hopes to double its water supply and keep the nation water secure.[2]
Yet, the government’s plans to expand its manufacturing sector threaten to undermine any gains made in water conservation at the household level. Singapore’s non-domestic sector currently accounts for 55% of water consumption, but that figure is expected to rise to 70% by 2060.[5] The Public Utilities Board believes that the doubling of supply and imposition of mandatory water efficiency practices for industry should be enough, but Dr. Ong believes that this approach will fail if not taken seriously: he states that ‘disruptions [in water supply] could be the norm if individual and corporate responsibility in water security is not taken seriously’.[4]
Dr. Ong believes that central to preserving water is the manufacturing sector’s need to take wastage more seriously, arguing that ‘attitudes in other industries, particularly those that encourage overconsumption of water as a resource such as fast fashion need to change as well’.4 The fashion industry is one of Singapore’s biggest, and most thirsty. The nation manufactures and sells nearly $225 billion SGD ($250 billion AUD) of clothing every year.[6] Manufacturing a t-shirt requires 2700 litres of water, while a pair of jeans requires 3781.4 Yet in 2017, one in three Singaporeans threw out clothing after wearing it just once.[4] Together, manufacturers and consumers threw out 196,000 tonnes of textiles in 2021.[7] Other water-intensive industries, like foods or electronics are also sources of high waste.
The blame for this waste doesn’t lie squarely on the consumers: they exist in a society that promotes consumption, where waste is a necessity to keep up with trends. To TJ, the answer is changing culture:
‘We should realise how important water is in sustaining life and perhaps not just life, but also for our day to day activities as well. For instance, we tend to view water as a resource rather than something sacred and we therefore abuse it often, we don't really care about any products of the water. We don't see any good reason to treat it after we have deemed it un-useful.’
When, like TJ, we see how important water really is, we begin to see it everywhere – in concrete, clothing, cars or chocolate, in coffee, chairs or charging cords. The foundation of life is present in all things. If we see water in this wholistic way, we see that a t-shirt thrown out after being worn once wastes as much water as leaving a kitchen tap running for seven-and-a-half hours.[8]
The current science behind Singapore’s water conservation frames water as a resource. In looking to quantify, measure and utilise it most effectively, it removes water from the environmental context it exists in. That is, it treats a part of nature as if it was a discrete object, like money or goods. But water isn’t a discrete object. It exists everywhere, in practically everything. In only seeking to reduce wastage of water in its pure and liquid form, the government is missing a fantastic opportunity to avoid wasting billions of litres of water, while also deepening its population’s environmental consciousness.
If the Singaporean government wants to mitigate the new risks posed by climate change, addressing consumerism is key. Its success in creating a population that is conscious of conserving water is a testament to its ability to educate, and to its citizens’ respect for the common good. Future public education programs should show that water is not just a tool for human use, but as something fundamental to all life. In seeing water this way, Singaporeans will be more willing to lower their consumption and thus reduce strain on resources. In supporting the lives and livelihoods of over six million people all crammed into on tiny island, Singapore’s policies of water conservation have so far been a near-miracle. But in a world soon to be rocked by the effects of climate change, the country must find new solutions to confront new threats.
The author would like to thank TJ Tan for contributing to this article, as well as David Cao, Viraj Patel and Elizabeth Pham for editing.
References and notes
1. Sine qua non = “something without which another cannot exist”. I know, it’s pretentious, but tried the thesaurus and could not find a better way to articulate what I was trying to say.
2. “Singapore Water Story”. Singapore: Public Utilities Board. Available from: https://www.pub.gov.sg/watersupply/singaporewaterstory.
3. “Singapore Population”. Worldometer. Available from: https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/singapore-population/;
4. Ong Wei Chong. “Commentary: Wide-scale water rationing a thing of the past? Not if Singaporeans slide towards unsustainable overconsumption”. Singapore: Today Online; 29 March 2023. Available from: https://www.todayonline.com/commentary/commentary-wide-scale-water-rationing-thing-past-not-if-singaporeans-slide-towards-unsustainable-overconsumption-2139421.
5. “Water Efficiency Benchmarks”. Singapore: Public Utilities Board. Available from: https://www.pub.gov.sg/savewater/atwork/WaterEfficiencyBenchmarks#.
6. “Clothing Manufacturers Singapore”. Salt Lake City: World Clothing Manufacturers; 27 January 2022. Available from: https://worldclothingmanufacturers.com/g/clothing-manufacturers/singapore/.
7. “Waste Statistics and Overall Recycling”. Singapore: National Environment Agency. Available from: https://www.nea.gov.sg/our-services/waste-management/waste-statistics-and-overall-recycling.
8. This fact is based on the assumption that Singaporean taps are designed to run at 6L/min; source: “Water Efficient Building (Basic) Certification”. Singapore: Public Utilities Board https://www.pub.gov.sg/savewater/atwork/certificationprogramme/.
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