Singapore: Water Short No More - By Michael Toh - Jun 05, 2010
As Singapore raced toward urbanization just four decades ago,
water shortages were a recurrent part of daily life. Fast
forward to the present, and the situation could not be more
different: Today, the city state enjoys reliable, diversified
and sustainable sources of water, thanks to a long-term water
policy driven by the exigencies of national survival. Rowing on
the new reservoir. Image courtesy PUB and taken by Darren Tong.
As a small island nation with no natural aquifers and lakes, and
little land to collect rainwater, Singapore needs to maximize
whatever water it can harvest. It does so by drawing on a
pervasive network of drains, canals and rivers that channel rain
water to 15 reservoirs and managing its total water supply in an
efficient, integrated manner. Singapore’s national water agency
PUB has built an internationally acknowledged model of
successful water management based on a Four National Taps
strategy, with water from four differ