Selected homes to get water-saving flushing systems
Today
By Neo Chai Chin
09 March 2017
SINGAPORE — National water agency PUB will be helping lower-income
families to save water, by replacing the 9L water closets of about
6,000 households with water-efficient 4L ones for free.
These families would be those living in public housing blocks built
between 1986 and 1992, which have yet to undergo the Home Improvement
Programme, which includes the replacement of their water closets.
Newer public flats already come with more water-efficient flushing systems.
PUB said that this group of households would “immediately” save 5L of
water per full flush, and could potentially save 10 per cent in their
monthly water bill.
More details on the replacement project will be made public in due course.
Announcing this plan in Parliament on Wednesday (March 8), Minister for
the Environment and Water Resources Masagos Zulkifli also revealed the
progress made in cutting domestic water consumption.
Last year, households used 148L of water per capita per day. This
figure is lower than the previous reported level of about 151L and just
shy of Singapore’s target of 147L by 2020, although still a stretch
from the 2030 target of 140L.
Water prices are scheduled to go up by 30 per cent over two rounds on
July 1 this year and next year, with help being provided to most
households.
On Wednesday, Mr Masagos highlighted measures other than
“right-pricing” to promote water conservation, and said that he was
inspired by people who have gone the extra mile to save water.
Over the next few years, PUB will be fitting smart shower devices in 10,000 new homes under a demonstration project.
This is based on an earlier study it conducted with the National
University of Singapore, which found people using less water in the
shower when they had devices that provided them with real-time
water-usage information.
From October next year, dishwashing machines will also come under the Mandatory Water Efficiency Labelling Scheme.
And from April 2019, all new and existing premises that are undergoing
renovation works must have water fittings classified as having at least
two-tick efficiency.
For the non-domestic sector, which consumes most of the water in
Singapore, heavy users (those consuming at least 60,000 cubic metres of
water a year) will need to send representatives to attend a three-day
water-efficiency manager course from 2019.
According to Mr Masagos: “Many of us are familiar with the Singapore
Water Story. Perhaps there is a risk of over-familiarity, a certain
jadedness from one too many social studies lessons ...
“The Water Story is a living story, and continues to be written by all
Singaporeans today, whether in producing it, or in conserving it.
Comments
Strict Values
The government should focus on such Creative initiatives then to raise prices to solve a problem. This is design thinking.
Swee Meng Ling
Too slow, too late. 9L to 4L, 5L waste, each flush for so long, if you
believe the PUB and the government are so concerned about minimizing
water "wastage" then you are just a typical Singaporean, gullible to
the extreme.
Industries need a lot of New Water, New Water needs a lot of cheap and
clean Used Water. New Water is a very good business for PUB, what and
where is the profit report on this? The bread is kaya-ed on more than
two sides.
Want to really save water, there are still countless of water-saving
and efficent methods in other countries that could be copied and
deployed easily here.
Are the PUB and the HDB so stupid? Our maths standard is at the top of
the world, but information flow is at the bottom of the world. No one
can tally this bill, even at this 30% jump, the book is not opened, and
could be kept closed.
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