Queensland tapping on Singapore's Newater experience

The Straits Times, April 7, 2007
By Tania Tan

Drought-stricken Aussie state will spend $10b on Singapore-style water infrastructure

WATER CRISIS: A dead kangaroo lies on a farmer's property in an outback town in Australia. Parts of the continent have been facing water shortages, especially south-east Queensland which is experiencing its worst drought in the last century.

SINGAPORE'S fountain of experience with Newater has become a model for other countries facing water shortages, an international water industry conference heard yesterday.

In the Australian state of Queensland, for instance, the government is planning to pump more than A$8 billion (S$10 billion) into new water infrastructure, modelled on Singapore's.

'Singapore has been a great partner helping us in this journey,' said Mr Craig Wallace, Queensland's Minister for Natural Resources and Water.

The drought-stricken state plans to develop its own version of Singapore's 'national taps' and adopt a series of strategies to diversify water sources and increase community awareness to conserve water.

South-east Queensland is experiencing its worst drought in the last century, said Mr Wallace. While supplies are sufficient to tide the state over, a beefed up infrastructure will ensure enough water for years to come and Singapore's expertise will make an invaluable contribution, he said.

Part of this ambitious programme is an A$1.7 billion recycled water plant, expected to be the world's third largest such facility.

PUB engineer Harry Seah is already part of a panel helping Queensland with technologies and management, said Mr Wallace.

Recycled water features heavily in Queensland's plan, accounting for a projected 40 per cent of total water use.

To combat the 'yuck factor', Queensland's Premier Peter Beattie even downed a bottle of recycled water early this year, reminiscent of then Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew drinking Newater during the 2002 National Day Parade celebrations.

Speaking at the opening of the inaugural Singapore Desalination and Water Reuse Leadership Summit at the Shangri-La Hotel here yesterday, Mr Wallace said more than 70 per cent of Australians accept recycled water as a drinking alternative.

The two-day conference brings together leaders from both the public and private water industries worldwide, who will be discussing the future of desalinated and recycled water use globally.

Environment and Water Resources Minister Yaacob Ibrahim, who was the guest of honour, also took the opportunity to announce the Singapore International Water Week to be held in June next year.

The event will draw water experts from around the world to spend a week networking and sharing knowledge, culminating in the awarding of an international water prize to honour top innovations in the industry.

Water Week will mark another step towards showcasing Singapore as a global water centre, said Dr Yaacob.

Professor Asit Biswas, founder of the think-tank Third World Centre for Water Management in Mexico and recent winner of the industry's current top honour - the Stockholm Water Prize - for his contributions, once praised Singapore for its excellence in water management.

He cited Singapore as an ideal model for water management, saying that sharing its expertise would be 'a tremendous service to the world'.