REPORTER: David oShea
The captain of my tourist boat is old enough to remember the Singapore River the way it used to be - a filthy working river.
Noxious waste and untreated sewage was discharging directly into the waterway. But the river was transformed in a massive clean-up in the 1970s and today's modern financial centre has grown rapidly on its banks.
FEMALE VOICEOVER: A modern city with a population of 4.2 million people..
In slick corporate videos like this one, development-mad Singapore likes to boast about its manipulation of the natural environment.
FEMALE VOICEOVER: Currently P.U.B is building the marina barrage which...
The latest grand plan is no different, by the end of this year Singapore's harbour will be transformed into a giant reservoir for the city's drinking water. More of that later. But first, why is Singapore going to such extraordinary lengths to quench its thirst?
YAP KHENG GUAN, PUBLIC UTILITIES BOARD: We are always on the lookout for different sources of water so that we are not just dependent on our traditional sources of water. And that's part of Singapore's water management strategy, if you like.
Singapore gets its water from four different sources, it calls them the four national taps - and the most important one is about to be turned off. Singapore imports half its water from Malaysia, just across this causeway, through these pipes. But in just four years time the contract to provide most of this water expires. This is a very touchy subject in Singapore, where relations with Malaysia are sometimes difficult. Dr Tommy Koh is Singapore's Ambassador-at-large at the Asia Pacific Water Forum.
REPORTER: From a Singaporean perspective is there some concern about the end of the agreement in 2011.
DR TOMMY KOH, AMBASSADOR-AT-LARGE: I think let's not talk about Singaporean-centric issues. Let's talk about the work that I mean, I don't I prefer to talk about the work I am doing for the region in the Asia Pacific Water Forum, so I prefer not to answer bilateral questions.
Like all government officials I met, Dr Koh refused to discuss the prospect of a looming water shortage.
YAP KHENG GUAN: I think the context of water supply has to be seen in the background of having four different sources of water, in other words, the four national taps.
REPORTER: But one of them is going to be turned off.
YAP KHENG GUAN: Well, we have three others. So I think it is a question of how well we can do a balance here.
Tap two is recycled water. Here they use the euphemism, 'NeWater'. These fish are swimming in recycled water outside the NeWater visitors centre, and they seem happy enough. They are playing their part in the PR campaign to sell recycled water to the public.
LIANA, TOUR GUIDE: The journey into NeWater begins now because we are proceeding into the factory itself. So let's find out more. OK, open sesame.
Liana is my enthusiastic tour guide.
LIANA: OK, everybody welcome to the very own the Bedok NeWater factory. So as you can see from here, this is where we process and make NeWater.
REPORTER: I notice you don't call it 'sewage', you call it "used water", you don't say "recycled water" you say 'NeWater', so how important is that selling the message?
YAP KHENG GUAN: What's important is that we have the technology that can actually treat water to a very high standard, a very high quality, and that is what NeWater is all about. And again, we're very open about the technology. It is very sophisticated, it's very meticulous in which the treatment process undergoes. But we try to be as open as we can and try to make the technology understandable to the layman.
LIANA: So over here, just imagine you are a water molecule, let's get ourselves washed. Come this way. Do join me here. So can you make it? No. Ah, if you are not, you must be the larger impurities.
HARRY SEAH, NEWATER QUALITY CONTROL: This is the nerve centre of the plant where we control the whole operation from here.
Harry Seah is in charge of the technology and the water quality, and he chooses his words carefully.
REPORTER: What is the raw product? Is it sewage?
HARRY SEAH: Yes, the raw product is waste it's waste water. It's what I call "used water". We prefer to call it used water because..
REPORTER: But it is sewage, though, yes?
HARRY SEAH: It is...it is we Sewage but..
REPORTER: You call it "waste water"?
HARRY SEAH: "Used water".
REPORTER: Used water.
HARRY SEAH: But more important is that you realise that in a sense that this waste water is actually more than 99-point-something percent water, alright. So you should be not be too think about, if you have proper treatment and you have proper operation, you should get very high quality water. It's not an issue. We have proven it here.
Although a small amount of the recycled water makes its way into the drinking supply, most of it is used for industry.
YAP KHENG GUAN: The demand from the non-domestic sector is actually very high and there is really no need for us to actually think about using NeWater for the time being for domestic purpose. Yes, we do have some part of NeWater but a very small part. It goes into the reservoir, so it's not directly into the drinking water network but into the reservoir.
REPORTER: Does it taste the same as other water?
LIANA: Oh, it depends on your own taste buds. Because I do have different guests giving me different feedback. Some say it tastes just like normal drinking water and some say it tastes like coconut drink. Let me show you. I have been drinking every day, I am still alive. OK? Have a seat.
Singapore's third tap is desalinated water. Just over a year ago Singapore opened the region's largest desalination plant. I'm not allowed to film inside because the plant is designated as a site of national security. It's Singapore's first public-private venture and produces up to 10% of the country's total water needs.
DAVID HEARN, SINGSPRING DESAL PLANT: The water comes out here.
The global head of operations for the company which built it explains how it works.
DAVID HEARN: First of all, obviously, you need to extract water from the sea so an ideal location like this one is as close to sea as you can get. For this plant, we take the water in here and it passes through, at the very front end, a couple of screens just to remove debris, you know, logs, seaweed, that kind of stuff from the sea. And then it moves into this part here, which is the pre-treatment. There is essentially three parts, three important parts to the whole process. One is the pre-treatment the other is the reverse osmosis itself, and then finally some chemical treatment to potablise the water. 40% comes out as pure water and 60% is still left as a concentrated brine, so it is still watery but much more concentrated.
REPORTER: Is there environmental concern of such a highly salty mixture going out to the sea? The fish wouldn't like it, would they?
DAVID HEARN: To be honest, I probably not in the actual vicinity where it is ejected. But certainly for this plant, and I'm sure for pretty much at all plants like this that are constructed worldwide, we obviously have to take account of the environmental impact.
One of the criticisms of desalination is that it requires a great deal of energy, a fact that David Hearn concedes.
DAVID HEARN: It is certain that desalination, both thermal and reverse osmosis, do require a relatively large amount of energy compared to, say, treating rain water.
The fourth tap, currently a trickle, but soon to become a flood, is rain water feeding into Singapore's catchment. Singapore gets over 250cm of rain per year but it's seasonal - most falls in the yearly deluge of the monsoon. The streets and gutters fill, empty into the river and flow out to sea. But not for much longer. An audacious project is under way at the mouth of the Singapore River estuary, and it starts with the building of a dam.
This is the Marina Barrage When all the construction is finished in December this will be an enormous freshwater reservoir with the catchment area the city itself. It will take two years for rain water flowing in from the city streets to flush out the sea water. The man in charge of this massive project is keen to quash concern about drinking water from the city's dirty streets.
YAP KHENG GUAN: You can still allow the urbanisation to take place - the housing, the office spaces, the commercial, even industries - and yet, at the same time not be too concerned about the quality of the rain water that flows off this area. Why? You can have pollution control measures in place.
FEMALE VOICEOVER: Water gives life and joy to living so use water wisely.
The government is already promoting the benefits of having a drinking water reservoir right in the heart of the city.
FEMALE VOICEOVER: Each one of us has a part to play to ensure that there is always water for generations to come.
But the plan goes even further, the reservoir will be used not only for drinking water but as a recreational playground.
YAP KHENG GUAN: Imagine kayaking along the rivers, you know, just right at your doorstep, alfresco dining and a play area for the kids, and so on and so forth. So there are many, many possibilities and we would like to do that so we can bring people closer to the water.
This Singaporean family is already using some recycled water from the NeWater plant nearby. And 8-year-old Chairul knows exactly what it is.
CHAIRUL: Pee and poo.
HAZLEENA: Do you think it's OK to drink that kind of water?
I decided to conduct a taste test with Hazleena and her children. One cup is filled with tap water, which comes from several different sources, another is just desalinated, and the last, recycled. And the family's verdict?
GIRL: I don't like that one. Number one and three is the same. Number two is different.
BOY: Two is bad and it tastes like saltwater.
Despite all Singapore's cutting-edge technology and marketing campaigns, this household knows what it doesn't like.
GIRL: OK, you try.
Cup two, containing desalinated water, gets the thumbs down.
HAZLEENA Mm, yuck. Ooh, that's awful.
REPORTER: You don't like that?
HAZLEENA: Yuck!
GEORGE NEGUS: David has brought back a couple of samples for us to taste test for ourselves. So here goes nothing, as they say. This one is desalinated. Oddly enough, a bit salty but definitely drinkable if you're thirsty enough. And this is the tricky one recycled from sewage, or NeWater, as the Singaporeans euphemistically call it. Is this the answer to Australia's water problems? Well, bottoms up. A bit of age thought there might have been. But no nose, a cheeky little number, if you'll pardon the expression, but also eminently drinkable for inhabitants of what is the driest continent on the planet and getting drier.
CREDITS
TX: 21/3/07 Ep: 5/2007
Feature Report: The Sun King
Reporter/Camera
CHRIS HAMMER
Producer
ASHLEY SMITH
Editors
DAVID POTTS
WAYNE LOVE
Subtitling
JING HAN
----- End Report Credits INSERT A GAP AND A LINE HERE ---
Feature Report: Singapores Taste Test
Reporter/Camera
DAVID OSHEA
Producer
AMOS COHEN
Editor
NICK OBRIEN
----- End Report Credits INSERT A GAP AND A LINE HERE ---
Environment Interview
Producer/Researcher
JANE WORTHINGTON
Cameraman/Producer
Cameraman
Sound
Editor
PETER TODD
----- End Report Credits INSERT A GAP AND A LINE HERE ---
Producer/Researcher
JANE WORTHINGTON
Researcher
CATHY CAREY
Cameraman/Producer
DAVID BRILL
Editor
ROWAN TUCKER-EVANS
Publicity
CHRISTINE HEARD
Graphics
MATTHEW BUSTEED
Post-Production Editor
STEPHEN HARROP
Interview Editor
JASON DIEPEVEEN
Technical Director
CHRIS GATES
Technical Assistant
ADAM McLEOD
Vision Mixer
PANAGIOTA ANAGNOSTOPOULOS
Floor Manager
IAN CICCIARI
Studio Cameras
DENNIS LIVINGSTON
Studio Audio
ROBERT JUDSON
Videotapes
MICHEAL HOWLETT
The captain of my tourist boat is old enough to remember the Singapore River the way it used to be - a filthy working river.
Noxious waste and untreated sewage was discharging directly into the waterway. But the river was transformed in a massive clean-up in the 1970s and today's modern financial centre has grown rapidly on its banks.
FEMALE VOICEOVER: A modern city with a population of 4.2 million people..
In slick corporate videos like this one, development-mad Singapore likes to boast about its manipulation of the natural environment.
FEMALE VOICEOVER: Currently P.U.B is building the marina barrage which...
The latest grand plan is no different, by the end of this year Singapore's harbour will be transformed into a giant reservoir for the city's drinking water. More of that later. But first, why is Singapore going to such extraordinary lengths to quench its thirst?
YAP KHENG GUAN, PUBLIC UTILITIES BOARD: We are always on the lookout for different sources of water so that we are not just dependent on our traditional sources of water. And that's part of Singapore's water management strategy, if you like.
Singapore gets its water from four different sources, it calls them the four national taps - and the most important one is about to be turned off. Singapore imports half its water from Malaysia, just across this causeway, through these pipes. But in just four years time the contract to provide most of this water expires. This is a very touchy subject in Singapore, where relations with Malaysia are sometimes difficult. Dr Tommy Koh is Singapore's Ambassador-at-large at the Asia Pacific Water Forum.
REPORTER: From a Singaporean perspective is there some concern about the end of the agreement in 2011.
DR TOMMY KOH, AMBASSADOR-AT-LARGE: I think let's not talk about Singaporean-centric issues. Let's talk about the work that I mean, I don't I prefer to talk about the work I am doing for the region in the Asia Pacific Water Forum, so I prefer not to answer bilateral questions.
Like all government officials I met, Dr Koh refused to discuss the prospect of a looming water shortage.
YAP KHENG GUAN: I think the context of water supply has to be seen in the background of having four different sources of water, in other words, the four national taps.
REPORTER: But one of them is going to be turned off.
YAP KHENG GUAN: Well, we have three others. So I think it is a question of how well we can do a balance here.
Tap two is recycled water. Here they use the euphemism, 'NeWater'. These fish are swimming in recycled water outside the NeWater visitors centre, and they seem happy enough. They are playing their part in the PR campaign to sell recycled water to the public.
LIANA, TOUR GUIDE: The journey into NeWater begins now because we are proceeding into the factory itself. So let's find out more. OK, open sesame.
Liana is my enthusiastic tour guide.
LIANA: OK, everybody welcome to the very own the Bedok NeWater factory. So as you can see from here, this is where we process and make NeWater.
REPORTER: I notice you don't call it 'sewage', you call it "used water", you don't say "recycled water" you say 'NeWater', so how important is that selling the message?
YAP KHENG GUAN: What's important is that we have the technology that can actually treat water to a very high standard, a very high quality, and that is what NeWater is all about. And again, we're very open about the technology. It is very sophisticated, it's very meticulous in which the treatment process undergoes. But we try to be as open as we can and try to make the technology understandable to the layman.
LIANA: So over here, just imagine you are a water molecule, let's get ourselves washed. Come this way. Do join me here. So can you make it? No. Ah, if you are not, you must be the larger impurities.
HARRY SEAH, NEWATER QUALITY CONTROL: This is the nerve centre of the plant where we control the whole operation from here.
Harry Seah is in charge of the technology and the water quality, and he chooses his words carefully.
REPORTER: What is the raw product? Is it sewage?
HARRY SEAH: Yes, the raw product is waste it's waste water. It's what I call "used water". We prefer to call it used water because..
REPORTER: But it is sewage, though, yes?
HARRY SEAH: It is...it is we Sewage but..
REPORTER: You call it "waste water"?
HARRY SEAH: "Used water".
REPORTER: Used water.
HARRY SEAH: But more important is that you realise that in a sense that this waste water is actually more than 99-point-something percent water, alright. So you should be not be too think about, if you have proper treatment and you have proper operation, you should get very high quality water. It's not an issue. We have proven it here.
Although a small amount of the recycled water makes its way into the drinking supply, most of it is used for industry.
YAP KHENG GUAN: The demand from the non-domestic sector is actually very high and there is really no need for us to actually think about using NeWater for the time being for domestic purpose. Yes, we do have some part of NeWater but a very small part. It goes into the reservoir, so it's not directly into the drinking water network but into the reservoir.
REPORTER: Does it taste the same as other water?
LIANA: Oh, it depends on your own taste buds. Because I do have different guests giving me different feedback. Some say it tastes just like normal drinking water and some say it tastes like coconut drink. Let me show you. I have been drinking every day, I am still alive. OK? Have a seat.
Singapore's third tap is desalinated water. Just over a year ago Singapore opened the region's largest desalination plant. I'm not allowed to film inside because the plant is designated as a site of national security. It's Singapore's first public-private venture and produces up to 10% of the country's total water needs.
DAVID HEARN, SINGSPRING DESAL PLANT: The water comes out here.
The global head of operations for the company which built it explains how it works.
DAVID HEARN: First of all, obviously, you need to extract water from the sea so an ideal location like this one is as close to sea as you can get. For this plant, we take the water in here and it passes through, at the very front end, a couple of screens just to remove debris, you know, logs, seaweed, that kind of stuff from the sea. And then it moves into this part here, which is the pre-treatment. There is essentially three parts, three important parts to the whole process. One is the pre-treatment the other is the reverse osmosis itself, and then finally some chemical treatment to potablise the water. 40% comes out as pure water and 60% is still left as a concentrated brine, so it is still watery but much more concentrated.
REPORTER: Is there environmental concern of such a highly salty mixture going out to the sea? The fish wouldn't like it, would they?
DAVID HEARN: To be honest, I probably not in the actual vicinity where it is ejected. But certainly for this plant, and I'm sure for pretty much at all plants like this that are constructed worldwide, we obviously have to take account of the environmental impact.
One of the criticisms of desalination is that it requires a great deal of energy, a fact that David Hearn concedes.
DAVID HEARN: It is certain that desalination, both thermal and reverse osmosis, do require a relatively large amount of energy compared to, say, treating rain water.
The fourth tap, currently a trickle, but soon to become a flood, is rain water feeding into Singapore's catchment. Singapore gets over 250cm of rain per year but it's seasonal - most falls in the yearly deluge of the monsoon. The streets and gutters fill, empty into the river and flow out to sea. But not for much longer. An audacious project is under way at the mouth of the Singapore River estuary, and it starts with the building of a dam.
This is the Marina Barrage When all the construction is finished in December this will be an enormous freshwater reservoir with the catchment area the city itself. It will take two years for rain water flowing in from the city streets to flush out the sea water. The man in charge of this massive project is keen to quash concern about drinking water from the city's dirty streets.
YAP KHENG GUAN: You can still allow the urbanisation to take place - the housing, the office spaces, the commercial, even industries - and yet, at the same time not be too concerned about the quality of the rain water that flows off this area. Why? You can have pollution control measures in place.
FEMALE VOICEOVER: Water gives life and joy to living so use water wisely.
The government is already promoting the benefits of having a drinking water reservoir right in the heart of the city.
FEMALE VOICEOVER: Each one of us has a part to play to ensure that there is always water for generations to come.
But the plan goes even further, the reservoir will be used not only for drinking water but as a recreational playground.
YAP KHENG GUAN: Imagine kayaking along the rivers, you know, just right at your doorstep, alfresco dining and a play area for the kids, and so on and so forth. So there are many, many possibilities and we would like to do that so we can bring people closer to the water.
This Singaporean family is already using some recycled water from the NeWater plant nearby. And 8-year-old Chairul knows exactly what it is.
CHAIRUL: Pee and poo.
HAZLEENA: Do you think it's OK to drink that kind of water?
I decided to conduct a taste test with Hazleena and her children. One cup is filled with tap water, which comes from several different sources, another is just desalinated, and the last, recycled. And the family's verdict?
GIRL: I don't like that one. Number one and three is the same. Number two is different.
BOY: Two is bad and it tastes like saltwater.
Despite all Singapore's cutting-edge technology and marketing campaigns, this household knows what it doesn't like.
GIRL: OK, you try.
Cup two, containing desalinated water, gets the thumbs down.
HAZLEENA Mm, yuck. Ooh, that's awful.
REPORTER: You don't like that?
HAZLEENA: Yuck!
GEORGE NEGUS: David has brought back a couple of samples for us to taste test for ourselves. So here goes nothing, as they say. This one is desalinated. Oddly enough, a bit salty but definitely drinkable if you're thirsty enough. And this is the tricky one recycled from sewage, or NeWater, as the Singaporeans euphemistically call it. Is this the answer to Australia's water problems? Well, bottoms up. A bit of age thought there might have been. But no nose, a cheeky little number, if you'll pardon the expression, but also eminently drinkable for inhabitants of what is the driest continent on the planet and getting drier.
CREDITS
TX: 21/3/07 Ep: 5/2007
Feature Report: The Sun King
Reporter/Camera
CHRIS HAMMER
Producer
ASHLEY SMITH
Editors
DAVID POTTS
WAYNE LOVE
Subtitling
JING HAN
----- End Report Credits INSERT A GAP AND A LINE HERE ---
Feature Report: Singapores Taste Test
Reporter/Camera
DAVID OSHEA
Producer
AMOS COHEN
Editor
NICK OBRIEN
----- End Report Credits INSERT A GAP AND A LINE HERE ---
Environment Interview
Producer/Researcher
JANE WORTHINGTON
Cameraman/Producer
Cameraman
Sound
Editor
PETER TODD
----- End Report Credits INSERT A GAP AND A LINE HERE ---
Producer/Researcher
JANE WORTHINGTON
Researcher
CATHY CAREY
Cameraman/Producer
DAVID BRILL
Editor
ROWAN TUCKER-EVANS
Publicity
CHRISTINE HEARD
Graphics
MATTHEW BUSTEED
Post-Production Editor
STEPHEN HARROP
Interview Editor
JASON DIEPEVEEN
Technical Director
CHRIS GATES
Technical Assistant
ADAM McLEOD
Vision Mixer
PANAGIOTA ANAGNOSTOPOULOS
Floor Manager
IAN CICCIARI
Studio Cameras
DENNIS LIVINGSTON
Studio Audio
ROBERT JUDSON
Videotapes
MICHEAL HOWLETT