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Singapore pushes recycled water ahead of talks |
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| SINGAPORE: August 5, 2002 | ||
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SINGAPORE - Singapore's political leaders sang a chorus of support for the island nation's new recycled water over the weekend, noting that self-sufficiency would help relax negotiations with Malaysia, its biggest source of supply.
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"If the price is not right, it's O.K.," George Yeo, Minister of Trade and Industry, was quoted as saying by Channel News Asia on Sunday. The two countries are due to hold a second round of talks this month on water supply and other issues, but price is still the sticking point. "This will improve our relations with Malaysia. If the Malaysians think that all of us will go thirsty without Malaysian water, then they will always think in their minds that they are selling us water too cheap," Yeo said at a National Day dinner on Saturday. "But once they know we can produce our own water, then rather than letting the rainwater all drain to the sea, they may well sell some of it to Singapore and we are happy to buy it." The city state of four million is aiming to be less dependent on its northern neighbour for vital water supply, which has been piped to Singapore under two agreements. Several politicians, including Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong, have embarked on a public relations campaign to soothe concerns about the hygiene of recycled or "Newater". Newater, which is recovered from waste water that once gurgled down sinks and swirled around toilet bowls, costs about half as much to produce as desalinated water. Singapore, which relies on Malaysia for about half of its water, wants the price of treated water it buys pegged to an agreed percentage of the cost of recycled water when the current agreements expire, the first in 2011. Several newspaper polls have found that response to recycled water has generally been good. Home Affairs Minister Wong Kan Seng, at a separate National Day dinner on Saturday, said the water had gone through a rigorous process of filtration, far more rigorous than the United States which uses reclaimed water. "Nevertheless, some people are still rather hesitant, as understandably so, when faced with new things," he said. Newater is being distributed to the public for taste trials at various National Day events ahead of independence celebrations on August 9.
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REUTERS NEWS SERVICE
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