![NEWater Bottle NDP 2014](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b2/NEWater_Bottle_NDP_2014.jpeg)
NEWater is the brand name given to
highly treated reclaimed wastewater produced by
Singapore's Public Utilities Board
The Public Utilities Board (PUB) is a statutory board under the Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment of the Government of Singapore responsible for ensuring a sustainable and efficient water supply in Singapore.
The PUB regulates an ...
. NEWater is produced by further purifying conventionally treated
wastewater
Wastewater is water generated after the use of freshwater, raw water, drinking water or saline water in a variety of deliberate applications or processes. Another definition of wastewater is "Used water from any combination of domestic, industr ...
through
microfiltration
Microfiltration is a type of physical filtration process where a contaminated fluid is passed through a special pore-sized membrane filter to separate microorganisms and suspended particles from process liquid. It is commonly used in conjunction ...
,
reverse osmosis
Reverse osmosis (RO) is a water purification process that uses a partially permeable membrane to separate ions, unwanted molecules and larger particles from drinking water. In reverse osmosis, an applied pressure is used to overcome osmotic pre ...
and ultraviolet irradiation. The water is potable quality and can be added to drinking water supply reservoirs where it is withdrawn and treated again in conventional water treatment plants before being distributed to consumers. However, most NEWater is currently used for non-drinking purposes, mostly by industries with production requirements for high purity water.
History
Singapore considered water recycling to augment its limited fresh water supply starting in the 1970s. A Master Plan drafted in 1972 identified water reclamation and desalination as alternatives to reduce dependence on imported water from Malaysia. Subsequently, an experimental water reclamation treatment plant was built in 1974, but the operation was terminated after only one year due to costs and reliability issues.
In 1998, the Public Utilities Board (PUB) and the
(MEWR) initiated the Singapore Water Reclamation Study (NEWater Study). The aim was to determine if NEWater was a viable source of raw water for Singapore's needs. NEWater and
desalination
Desalination is a process that takes away mineral components from saline water. More generally, desalination refers to the removal of salts and minerals from a target substance, as in Soil salinity control, soil desalination, which is an issue f ...
both were explored to reduce reliance on water imported from
Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
, which has long been a source of friction between the Malaysian and Singapore governments. The Malaysian government is treaty-bound to sell water to Singapore until 2061, but it has no obligation to do so after that date.
In 2001, PUB initiated efforts to identify non-potable uses of water. NEWater, because of its high quality, became the supply of choice for industries' demands. This use provided an outlet for this new water supply without increasing the demand on the limited potable water supply.
The PUB launched NEWater to the public in 2003, with the opening of the first two NEWater plants - the Bedok and Kranji plants - as well as the NEWater Visitor Centre. In anticipation of the potential public concerns over the safety of recycled water, NEWater was carefully implemented. The PUB was cautious in its usage of terms, avoiding terms such as 'wastewater' or 'sewage' that carried a negative connotation. Sewage treatment plants were renamed to 'water reclamation plants' and sewage or wastewater were referred to as 'used water'. This contributed to a positive framing of NEWater, enhancing public acceptance of reused water. In addition, the government extensively engaged the public through exhibitions and advertisements to educate them about NEWater. The NEWater Visitor Centre, which allows people to view the NEWater treatment process, was also opened to enhance visitors' understanding of how NEWater is produced. These public engagement efforts were aimed at correcting any misunderstandings people might have towards recycled water and increasing public support for reused water.
Production
![NEWater Bedok plant](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/84/NEWater_Bedok_plant.jpg)
The first NEWater plant was completed in May 2000. Singapore currently has four operational NEWater factories, at Bedok, Kranji, Ulu Pandan and Changi. The Bedok and Kranji factories were commissioned in 2002, the Ulu Pandan plant in March 2007 and the Changi plant in August 2009. A plant at Seletar, commissioned in February 2004, was closed in 2011, as the PUB implemented its plan to centralize the treatment of used water, under the Deep Tunnel Sewerage System. In January 2017, a new NEWater plant was launched at
Changi
Changi () is a planning area located in the geographical region of Tanah Merah in the East Region of Singapore. Sharing borders with Pasir Ris and Tampines to the west, Changi Bay to the southeast, the South China Sea to the east and the Sera ...
, and is the first plant to be jointly developed by a foreign and local company.
The Bedok and Kranji plants are operated by the Public Utilities Board, while the Ulu Pandan and Changi plants are under
DBOO concessions by Keppel Seghers and
Sembcorp Industries
Sembcorp Industries (Sembcorp) is an energy and urban development company.
Sembcorp's marine division provided a variety of services, including the engineering and construction of offshore platforms for oil extraction, until it was demerged ...
There is a Visitor Centre in the NEWater factory in Bedok, near the Singapore Expo
Tanah Merah MRT station
Tanah Merah MRT station is an elevated Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) interchange station on the East West line located in Bedok, Singapore. Other than the main service for the East West line, Tanah Merah station is also the terminus for the Chang ...
. The visitor centre was awarded the Best Sightseeing/Leisure/Educational Programme at the 20th Tourism Awards 2005 and the IWA Marketing & Communication Award in 2006.
The visitor centre provides multiple free programmes to educate the public regarding the technologies and production of NEWater:
* NEWater Scientist Program – Students take on the role of NEWater Scientists and explore the visitor centre
* Outdoor Classroom – Host fun activities and experiments that help students learn about reverse osmosis and other NEWater processes
* Water Ambassadors – Small workshops that teach uniformed groups (i.e. National Cadet Corps and Scouts Association) skills to be water ambassadors
Procedure
NEWater source water comes from
effluent
Effluent is wastewater from sewers or industrial outfalls that flows directly into surface waters either untreated or after being treated at a facility. The term has slightly different meanings in certain contexts, and may contain various pollut ...
of
secondary sewage treatment plants. The effluent passes through a multiple-barrier water reclamation process:
*first stage of the NEWater production process, uses
microfiltration
Microfiltration is a type of physical filtration process where a contaminated fluid is passed through a special pore-sized membrane filter to separate microorganisms and suspended particles from process liquid. It is commonly used in conjunction ...
/
ultrafiltration
Ultrafiltration (UF) is a variety of membrane filtration in which forces such as pressure or concentration gradients lead to a separation through a semipermeable membrane. Suspended solids and solutes of high molecular weight are retained in the s ...
to remove suspended solids, colloidal particles, disease-causing bacteria, some
viruses
A virus is a submicroscopic infectious agent that replicates only inside the living cells of an organism. Viruses infect all life forms, from animals and plants to microorganisms, including bacteria and archaea.
Since Dmitri Ivanovsky's 1 ...
and
protozoan
Protozoa (singular: protozoan or protozoon; alternative plural: protozoans) are a group of single-celled eukaryotes, either free-living or parasitic, that feed on organic matter such as other microorganisms or organic tissues and debris. Histo ...
cysts
A cyst is a closed sac, having a distinct envelope and division compared with the nearby tissue. Hence, it is a cluster of cells that have grouped together to form a sac (like the manner in which water molecules group together to form a bubble) ...
. The filtered water after passing through the membrane contains only dissolved salts and organic molecules.
* second stage of the NEWater production process, uses
reverse osmosis
Reverse osmosis (RO) is a water purification process that uses a partially permeable membrane to separate ions, unwanted molecules and larger particles from drinking water. In reverse osmosis, an applied pressure is used to overcome osmotic pre ...
(RO). A
semi-permeable membrane
Semipermeable membrane is a type of biological or synthetic, polymeric membrane that will allow certain molecules or ions to pass through it by osmosis. The rate of passage depends on the pressure, concentration, and temperature of the molecule ...
filters out contaminants such as bacteria, viruses,
heavy metals
upright=1.2, Crystals of osmium, a heavy metal nearly twice as dense as lead">lead.html" ;"title="osmium, a heavy metal nearly twice as dense as lead">osmium, a heavy metal nearly twice as dense as lead
Heavy metals are generally defined as ...
,
nitrate
Nitrate is a polyatomic ion
A polyatomic ion, also known as a molecular ion, is a covalent bonded set of two or more atoms, or of a metal complex, that can be considered to behave as a single unit and that has a net charge that is not zer ...
s,
chloride
The chloride ion is the anion (negatively charged ion) Cl−. It is formed when the element chlorine (a halogen) gains an electron or when a compound such as hydrogen chloride is dissolved in water or other polar solvents. Chloride salts ...
s,
sulfates
The sulfate or sulphate ion is a polyatomic
A polyatomic ion, also known as a molecular ion, is a covalent bonded set of two or more atoms, or of a metal complex, that can be considered to behave as a single unit and that has a net charge t ...
, disinfection by-products, aromatic hydrocarbons, and
pesticides
Pesticides are substances that are meant to control pests. This includes herbicide, insecticide, nematicide, molluscicide, piscicide, avicide, rodenticide, bactericide, insect repellent, animal repellent, microbicide, fungicide, and lampric ...
. NEWater is thus free from viruses and bacteria and contains very low levels of salts and
organic matter
Organic matter, organic material, or natural organic matter refers to the large source of carbon-based compounds found within natural and engineered, terrestrial, and aquatic environments. It is matter composed of organic compounds that have c ...
. At this stage, the water is of potable quality.
* third stage of the NEWater production process, is a safety precaution.
UV disinfection
Ultraviolet germicidal irradiation (UVGI) is a disinfection method that uses short-wavelength ultraviolet (ultraviolet C or UV-C) light to kill or inactivate microorganisms by destroying nucleic acids and disrupting their DNA, leaving them unabl ...
is used to ensure that all organisms are inactivated and the purity of the water can be guaranteed. After adding some alkaline chemicals to restore the
pH balance, NEWater is ready for use.
File:Microfiltration system at Bedok NEWater Factory.jpg, Microfiltration system
File:Cutaway of a microfiltration module with hollow fiber membranes at a NEWater plant.jpg, Cutaway of a microfiltration module with hollow fiber membrane
Hollow fiber membranes (HFMs) are a class of artificial membranes containing a semi-permeable barrier in the form of a hollow fiber. Originally developed in the 1960s for reverse osmosis applications, hollow fiber membranes have since become p ...
s
File:Ultrafiltration system at Bedok NEWater Factory.jpg, Immersed ultrafiltration with permeate
In physics and engineering, permeation (also called imbuing) is the penetration of a permeate (a fluid such as a liquid, gas, or vapor) through a solid. It is directly related to the concentration gradient of the permeate, a material's intrins ...
pumps
File:ZeeWeed 500 ultrafiltration module at a NEWater plant.jpg, Ultrafiltration membrane module
File:Reverse osmosis system at Bedok NEWater Factory.jpg, Reverse osmosis system
File:Cutaway of a 16" reverse osmosis tube.jpg, Cutaway of a reverse osmosis module
File:Cutaway model of UV disinfection unit used in NEWater water treatment plants.jpg, Cutaway model of UV disinfection unit
Since 2002, there have been pilot programs to consider replacing the
activated sludge
The activated sludge process is a type of biological wastewater treatment process for treating sewage or industrial wastewaters using aeration and a biological floc composed of bacteria and protozoa. It uses air (or oxygen) and microorganisms ...
process of the secondary sewage treatment and the microfiltration/ultrafiltration stage of the NEWater with a
membrane bioreactor
Membrane bioreactor (MBR) is a combination of membrane processes like microfiltration or ultrafiltration with a biological wastewater treatment process, the activated sludge process. It is now widely used for municipal and industrial wastewater ...
process.
[
]
Applications
The total capacity of the plants is about . Some 6% of this is used for indirect potable use, equal to about 1% of Singapore's potable water requirement of . The rest is used at wafer fabrication
Wafer fabrication is a procedure composed of many repeated sequential processes to produce complete electrical or photonic circuits on semiconductor wafers in semiconductor device fabrication process. Examples include production of radio frequ ...
plants and other non-potable
Drinking water is water that is used in drink or food preparation; potable water is water that is safe to be used as drinking water. The amount of drinking water required to maintain good health varies, and depends on physical activity level, a ...
applications in industries in Woodlands Woodlands may back refer to:
* Woodland, a low-density forest
Geography
Australia
* Woodlands, New South Wales
* Woodlands, Ashgrove, Queensland, a heritage-listed house associated with John Henry Pepper
* Woodlands, Marburg, Queensland, a her ...
, Tampines
Tampines () is the regional centre of the East Region of Singapore. With a population of 265,340 living across its five subzones, it is the second-most populous planning area in Singapore, according to the DOS Population Trends 2022. It is h ...
, Pasir Ris
Pasir Ris is a planning area and residential town located in the East Region of Singapore. It is bordered by Tampines and Paya Lebar to the south, Sengkang to the southwest and Changi to the east. The planning area also shares riverine bound ...
, and Ang Mo Kio
Ang Mo Kio is a planning area and residential town situated in the North-East of Singapore. Located approximately north of the Downtown Core district, Ang Mo Kio is the 3rd most populated planning area in the North-East Region and ranks 8th ...
.
Government figures show the country's NEWater plans can meet up to 40% of Singapore's current needs, and the figure is expected to go up to 55% by 2060.
Potability
The quality of NEWater consistently exceeds the requirements set by US EPA
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is an independent executive agency of the United States federal government tasked with environmental protection matters. President Richard Nixon proposed the establishment of EPA on July 9, 1970; it be ...
and WHO
Who or WHO may refer to:
* Who (pronoun), an interrogative or relative pronoun
* Who?, one of the Five Ws in journalism
* World Health Organization
Arts and entertainment Fictional characters
* Who, a creature in the Dr. Seuss book '' Horton He ...
guidelines and is cleaner than Singapore's other water sources.Public Utilities Board
The Public Utilities Board (PUB) is a statutory board under the Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment of the Government of Singapore responsible for ensuring a sustainable and efficient water supply in Singapore.
The PUB regulates an ...
NEWater FAQ
/ref>
The following table compares the water quality of NEWater to the WHO and USEPA standards.
See also
* Water supply and sanitation in Singapore
Water supply and sanitation in Singapore are intricately linked to the historical development of Singapore. It is characterised by a number of achievements in a challenging environment with geographical limitations. Access to water in Singapore ...
References
External links
Official site
{{Singapore topics
2003 establishments in Singapore
Products introduced in 2003
Bottled water brands
Water supply and sanitation in Singapore