Local Water Catchment

Singapore has no natural water resources but receives abundant rainfall. How to catch all that free water from the sky?

#ChallengeAccepted. By collecting it everywhere we can.

We have expanded our water catchment areas from just MacRitchie, Pierce and Seletar reservoirs to 17 reservoirs today, covering two-thirds of Singapore. For example, from 1975 to 1981, Kranji, Pandan, Murai, Poyan, Sarimbun, and Tengeh rivers were dammed to create new reservoirs.

The Singapore River and Kallang Basin were cleaned so they could serve as another catchment from 1987 onwards. Marina Barrage was built in 2008, creating Marina Reservoir, our largest.

And we have not stopped. The Greater Southern Waterfront will be built with its own reservoir, which will collect excess water released from Marina Reservoir — that’s right, we are not letting precious water go to waste.

We also use the land we have to the fullest extent. Rain-gardens in schools and outside malls and residences help detain and treat rainwater before they are directed to our waterways. Porous pavements installed in the majority of HDB estates encourage the runoff from rainwater to enter our waterways.

Our determination in overcoming obstacles, using technology and innovation to meet our water challenges, has made us one of the few countries in the world to harvest urban stormwater on a large scale for potable consumption. Look out for more upcoming #ChallengeAccepted posts on how we find different ways to satisfy our thirst to do our best for our country.