This should be our concern today.
Currently, water from Johor River helps to meet half of Singapore’s water needs before we become self-sufficient in 2060.
The water plant in Johore cannot treat saltwater.
The Linggiu Reservoir, built in 1994, enables Singapore to reliably draw water from the Johor River by releasing water into the river to prevent saltwater intrusion from the sea into the river.
However, the water level at Linggiu Reservoir in Johor has been rapidly falling to historic lows, raising the possibility that Singapore would be unable to import any water.
At the start of last year, the water level was about 80%. Eight months later it receded to 54.5%. It dropped to 43% in November last year. Last week it was 36.9%. This week it fell to a new historic low of 35%.
While Singapore and Malaysia enjoy good relations and have a treaty in place, Professor Asit Biswas, distinguished visiting professor at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy (LKYSPP) noted that the supply of water from Johor can by no means be taken for granted.
Prof Biswas, who won the Stockholm Water Prize — considered the water industry’s Nobel Prize — a decade ago, noted that there is a high probability of the region experiencing a serious drought in the coming decades.
And if that happens, “would the politicians and people (in Malaysia) be willing to send that water to Singapore or say it’s an act of God, they really cannot send water and they need to use it themselves? I don’t know”, he said.
Source: Today
Currently, water from Johor River helps to meet half of Singapore’s water needs before we become self-sufficient in 2060.
The water plant in Johore cannot treat saltwater.
The Linggiu Reservoir, built in 1994, enables Singapore to reliably draw water from the Johor River by releasing water into the river to prevent saltwater intrusion from the sea into the river.
However, the water level at Linggiu Reservoir in Johor has been rapidly falling to historic lows, raising the possibility that Singapore would be unable to import any water.
At the start of last year, the water level was about 80%. Eight months later it receded to 54.5%. It dropped to 43% in November last year. Last week it was 36.9%. This week it fell to a new historic low of 35%.
While Singapore and Malaysia enjoy good relations and have a treaty in place, Professor Asit Biswas, distinguished visiting professor at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy (LKYSPP) noted that the supply of water from Johor can by no means be taken for granted.
Prof Biswas, who won the Stockholm Water Prize — considered the water industry’s Nobel Prize — a decade ago, noted that there is a high probability of the region experiencing a serious drought in the coming decades.
And if that happens, “would the politicians and people (in Malaysia) be willing to send that water to Singapore or say it’s an act of God, they really cannot send water and they need to use it themselves? I don’t know”, he said.
Source: Today
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