More water works

Last time it was dams on the Volga at reference 3. This time it is drinking water in Singapore.

Which has prompted me to learn that Singapore is an interesting place. One degree of latitude or 100 miles north of the equator, a clutch of islands, one large, sandwiched between the southern tip of Malaya and some outlying islands of Sumatra, that is to say Indonesia. At getting on for 300 square miles, twice the size of the Isle of Wight, but with 5.5m people, something like 30 times the population. So a good deal denser, although the Singaporeans have taken care to retain substantial chunks of green space, including a fine botanic garden (reference 6), a new part of which may have been noticed at reference 2. Most people live in tower blocks. Most of the people are ethnic Chinese but there are substantial minorities of Malays and Indians. While it seems that for practical purposes, English is the language of choice: perhaps linguists have made studies of how their English has drifted away from the mother lode.

Very low birth rate and lots of helpers drawn in from foreign parts.

I should not perhaps have been surprised to learn that they spend a lot on their military. In which connection they get a lot of help and buy a lot of kit from Israel. There is conscription. They also seem to have a number of air facilities overseas - Australia, the US and (for some reason) France.

Not yet worked out how they make a living, because while there is a good chunk of space given to an airport on the eastern tip of the main island, there does not seem to be much space left for manufacturing. Perhaps, like London, they live on a bubble of financial and legal services.

But the issue of the day is water, as introduced at reference 1, and while they have plenty of rain they are short of places to put it. With net consumption running at 500 million gallons a day, or 100 gallons a head - or three English baths. Here at Epsom, my water bill tells me that we use around 10 cubic metres or 2,000 gallons a month, say 50 gallons per head per day. Which does not include our share of consumption outside the home. Slightly puzzled. Sums need to be revisited.

Presently, the Singaporeans have an agreement with the Malays to use a reservoir on the mainland, which meets about half the need, but they are keen to be as independent as they can. Which involves a lot of desalination (presently energy expensive), lots of recycling (perhaps they beat the eleven trips through humans that Thames water is said to make before it makes it to the sea) and careful consumption, encouraged by water charges. Major facilities include the Keppel Marina East Desalination Plant (reference 4) and the Changi Water Reclamation Plant (largely underground, otherwise somewhere in reference 5). And no doubt, as in the Netherlands, O-I-C Water has a seat in the Cabinet, at the top table.

They have set themselves the challenge of water independence by 2060, while at the same time accommodating a doubling in usage. And rising sea levels? Some challenge.

PS: more puzzlement while I was reading about Singapore, in that, in the margins, I read that the partners at KPMG have awarded themselves record remuneration at a time when they are being given record fines for failures in their core audit business.

References.

Reference 1: Singapore pushes for water independence as temperatures rise: The tiny city-state, which imports water from Malaysia, has set its eyes on self-sufficiency. Climate change has added new urgency to the situation - Megan Tatum, MIT Technology Review - 2021.

Reference  2: http://psmv4.blogspot.com/2020/04/two-new-places.html.

Reference 3: https://psmv5.blogspot.com/2022/01/watery-projects.html.

Reference 4: http://www.kepinfra.com/kmedp/.

Reference 5: https://www.pub.gov.sg/. Singapore's national water agency. No nonsense about market forces here.

Reference 6: https://www.nparks.gov.sg/sbg.