JUL 26, 2002

ARE you game enough to take a swig of Newater?

Astronauts would certainly have no problem with it; drinking reclaimed water comes with the job. Recyling systems on board space stations reclaim water directly from the crew's urine, waste water from washing and even humidity from the air.

For the rest of us on terra firma, the idea takes some getting used to.

Most Singaporeans have grown up knowing no other source of water except that from scenic reservoirs in the centre of the island and some notion of pristine rivers somewhere across the Causeway.

Members of the nine-member panel of scientists, doctors and microbiologists, who declared on Tuesday that Newater was safe to drink, conceded also that the public will take some convincing.

Thankfully for the Public Utilities Board (PUB) and Singaporeans though, water reclamation has a spotless track record of more than 20 years in many countries, including the United States.

For millions living in communities in California, Arizona and Virginia in the US, reclaimed water has become as ordinary as storm sewers and summer droughts.

Seven communities in these states are already using reclaimed water for drinking. Another nine public water systems using reclaimed water are in different stages of planning.

American water-quality expert Professor Joan Rose, from the University of South Florida, points out that while people know of rivers as a source of drinking water, not many realise that they are often also the sewers into which waste water, treat- ed or not, is emptied.

Whether it is the Mississippi in the US, the Rhine in Europe, or the Yangtze in China, river pollution has long been a major problem for communities drawing water from them.

No one realises this more than the people in Orange County, California, on the west coast of the US.

Long considered the 'drain' of the Santa Ana River, more than 50 sewage-treatment plants upstream empty their treated waste water into the river - the same river that is one of the sources of drinking water for the county and other communities along the river.

In Singapore's case, the Johor, Scudai and Tebrau rivers are out of sight, up north in Malaysia, but it is no secret that they too are used as drains for villages and farms in the surrounding areas.

Of course, water extracted from these rivers is treated and made safe before it reaches your home. But knowing that Singapore's current water sources are not pristine is perhaps the first step towards accepting Newater.

Not that Singapore is new to reclamation - it has been at it for more than two decades, ever since the Jurong Industrial Water Works started treating used water for supply to factories as industrial water for their washing, cooling and other process purposes.

What is new about Newater - a term coined by former PUB chairman Lee Ek Tieng - is that it takes the Republic to the leading edge of water reclamation.

Plants in Bedok and Kranji apply technology learnt from Orange County, California, and Scottsdale, Arizona, to produce water that has been shown by two years of testing to exceed drinking water standards set by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the United States Environmental Protection Agency (Usepa).

The Bedok and Kranji plants, which will be up and running by next year, will supply 72,000 cubic metres a day of Newater to wafer-fabrication plants as a feedstock for their ultra-pure water needs. The amount will go up to more than 250,000 cubic metres a day by 2012, to meet the needs of other industries.

More plants will be built to meet future water needs, whether these are industrial or residential.

Although Newater is only for industrial use now, the Government is considering releasing some of it into the reservoirs to supplement drinking water supplies here.

Such a blend has been the standard glass of water since 1978 for about 1.2 million people in North Virginia, says Prof Rose, an expert in water-pollution microbiology.

In the US, it helped that the technology was backed by a rigorous system of independent testing and scientific monitoring to make sure that the water was safe.

In California, for instance, standards are even higher than what the federal government requires for some contaminants, says Orange County Water District's associate general manager, Mr Michael Wehner.

Water authorities there test for compounds for which no standards have been set yet, and are also on the lookout for new emerging threats that could make their may into the water, he adds.

Singaporeans will expect no less and the PUB has already set the bar high, breaking new ground with its two-year testing of Newater.

Some 20,000 tests were carried out, looking at 191 parameters, way above WHO's check list of 119 parameters and the Usepa's 86.

PUB chairman Tan Gee Paw says that it will not end there, because the US experience has shown that having a good product alone is not enough.

The board is fully aware that public education will be critical if this product is to be accepted by Singaporeans and tourists alike who have grown accustomed to drinking from the tap here.

There will be many out there like administrative executive Lucy Lim, who e-mailed Insight wondering how safe Newater can be if some small businesses operating out of homes wash toxic materials down their bathroom sinks.

She said: 'I am concerned because there are people who selfishly and secretly operate printing businesses at home and allow the printing chemicals and black ink to flow down from the bathroom. These are very toxic materials.'

To put to rest the fears of Ms Lim and others, Mr Tan explains that the PUB will demystify the water-treatment process through forums and visits to the Newater plant in Bedok.

There will also be media campaigns, including a television documentary, and talks to grassroots organisations.

When the full programme is rolled out, it is likely to be one of the most comprehensive public- education efforts ever.

It will have to be because budding entrepreneurs are no doubt waiting to sell every home, office, school, hospital and hotel new water-filtration systems, billing such devices as the last line of defence if Newater does not live up to its promise of being safe to drink.

Those selling bottled water will also rejoice. In an e-mail to Insight, one reader commented: 'Residents will use Newater only for washing utensils and bathing; but use bottled water for drinking and cooking.'

Even as the PUB embarks on its campaign to win over the sceptics, the board and Singaporeans in general realise that there is more to Newater than the issue of how it tastes.

It will be an important lever in helping to secure for Singaporeans the best deal possible in the ongoing negotiations with Malaysia.

As Deputy Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong pointed out last week: 'If we are intending to buy water from other sources, it has to be competitive with Newater. Otherwise, it makes no sense.'

No doubt, recognising the Singapore game plan, some Malaysian newspapers have already started casting doubts on the drinkability of Singapore's Newater.

Analysts, however, shrug this off as part of the usual propaganda war accompanying bilateral negotiations on the package of issues that include water supply, Malayan Railway land and the replacement of the Causeway with a bridge.

What is more important, they point out, is ploughing ahead with Newater technology, developing it to such a point that no one will have any reason to resist drinking it.

For now, even if the Republic were to use Newater for only industrial purposes, that alone would reduce Singapore's dependence on Malaysian water by a big part.

Singapore buys half its water from Malaysia, with the other half coming from its own catchment sources. And of the 1.2 million cubic metres consumed here every day, about half goes to industrial and commercial users.

Once Newater supply is cranked up, more industrial users who now use PUB's potable water can be weaned off it and be switched to the new product. More PUB water can then be released for home use.

Add residential users to its customer base, and Newater can potentially obviate all need to buy water from Malaysia, ever.

Water reclamation - a term used worldwide, not just in Singapore - also costs much less than desalination, which is the process of making drinking water by removing salt from seawater.

The Environment Ministry has estimated that with current technologies, the cost of producing a given amount of Newater is about half to one third that of desalination.

The only hurdle Newater faces, its advocates acknowledge, is public acceptance. But they are hopeful: If millions in the US have gone that way, so can Singaporeans.

Ms Jenny Soh, a customer service manager, may prove typical of Singaporeans.

She tells Insight: 'The thought of drinking reprocessed toilet and dirty water is repugnant. But I am willing to overcome that psychological barrier and support Newater because it will enable Singapore to break free from being dependent on Malaysia for water.'

Copyright © 2002 Singapore Press Holdings. All rights reserved.