Thursday, June 18, 2009

Space-saving Newater Changi plant

June 18, 2009

'WASTE not' might just as well be the motto for Singapore's latest water reclamation plant in Changi.

To save space, the Republic's fifth Newater factory, due to be completed next year, is being built on top of the Changi Water Reclamation Plant's (CWRP) underground facilities.

Mr Young Joo Chye, deputy director of best sourcing department at national water agency PUB, said the stack concept is a unique feature: 'If we had not adapted we would have required three times the land.'

The Ulu Pandan water reclamation plant is spread over 46ha and can treat 79 million gallons per day (MGD). The CWRP covers 32ha but can treat 176MGD - or 320 Olympic-size pools - of waste.

Singapore produces 300 million gallons of sewage a day. The CWRP's deep tunnel sewerage system, buried beneath expressways running from north to east, has been built to last for 100 years.

The Changi Newater factory will have a capacity of 50MGD and with similar plants at Ulu Pandan, Kranji and Bedok will reclaim one-third of Singapore's waste water by 2011. The Seletar Newater plant and its water reclamation facility will be axed in 2011.

CWRP and its sewerage system is phase one of PUB's plans for waste water. Two water reclamation facilities at Bedok and Kim Chuan, have been phased out. In the next 10 to 20 years, another deep tunnel sewerage system and water reclamation plant will be built at Tuas and two or all of the remaining such plants at Kranji, Ulu Padan and Jurong will be shut down.

VICTORIA VAUGHAN

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