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The Johor River is Singapore’s source of imported water and supplies up to 60 per cent of Singapore’s daily water needs.
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Public urged to conserve water; minister warns restrictions may kick if situation worsens.
Among other ways, households can save water by taking shorter showers and using water from the washing-machine rinse-cycle to flush the toilets and mop the floor, according to the PUB.
Linggiu Reservoir in Johor receded to lowest in 20-year history. How it will affect S’pore: http://tdy.sg/1K0mPrb
JOHOR — With the reservoir that enables Singapore to reliably draw water from the Johor River at a historic low, Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Vivian Balakrishnan today (Aug 3) called on the public to save water and warned that restrictions could kick in if the situation worsens. These could include banning the unnecessary watering of plants or the running of water features for aesthetic reasons.
The Linggiu Reservoir in Johor receded to about slightly more than half (54.5 per cent) of its capacity today (Aug 3), the lowest in its 20-year history. Water from the reservoir is released into the Johor River to prevent saltwater intrusion from the sea into the river, as salty water cannot be treated by the water plant further downstream. This enables Singapore to draw a maximum of 250 million gallons per day from the river allowed under the 1962 water agreement between Singapore and Malaysia.
Writing on Facebook, Dr Balakrishnan, who visited the reservoir today, noted that Singapore is in a “much stronger and secure position now” thanks to its investments in desalination and NEWater over the decades. However, it should never take things for granted, he said.
“Water has always been an existential issue for us since independence 50 years ago… We have to constantly be aware of potential problems and prepare well ahead of time,” Dr Balakrishnan said.
He added: “No other country has pursued water security with such a single minded focus on such a scale. Without these investments we would be in a very precarious position.”
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Water restrictions would be the next step if the situation worsens, but Dr Balakrishnan said water rationing is unlikely in the “foreseeable future”. “For now, all I’m asking for is water conservation,” he said.
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Water supply from Johor ‘hit by dry weather’; Vivian Balakrishnan urges public to save water http://tdy.sg/1K0mPrb
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AsiaOne Water levels at key Johor reservoir at all-time low: Vivian @VivianBala http://bit.ly/1VWy9Oj
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The Straits Times Singapore‘s water supply from Malaysia reaches critical levels http://str.sg/Zeb8
SINGAPORE – Singaporeans have to start conserving their water use even more because dry weather is affecting the country’s major source of water, said Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Vivian Balakrishnan on Monday.
The Republic can draw up to 250 million gallons of water a day, or up to about 60 per cent of its water needs, from the Johor River in Malaysia.
But this is only possible because the Linggiu Reservoir in Johor releases water into the river, preventing seawater from intruding into the river.
Since last year (2014), water levels in the reservoir have been steadily depleting, and have now reached a historic low of 54.5 per cent of its capacity.
Singapore’s national water agency PUB has already had to stop extracting water from the river temporarily 77 times this year.
An El Nino weather phenomenon is also expected to lead to even drier weather than usual for the rest of the year, which will further affect the water supply from the river as well as Singapore’s own reservoirs which stores rainwater.
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Singapore quest for water independence may be distracting pipe dream http://reut.rs/1JH0X8s – by me & @AntonyMCurrie
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