Conserving Water the NEWater Way (20 Sep 2011)

  Set 1/7  

It was a Tuesday morning on 20 September when we went to the NEWater Visitor Centre. It was a Learning Journey to educate ourselves about water conservation and consumption in Singapore.  It was raining cats and dogs as we were on our way to Koh Sek Lim Road, Tanah Merah, where the NEWater plant is situated. The bad weather did not dampen our high spirits.  When the school bus stopped at the entrance of the Centre, we were amazed by the beautiful scenery before our eyes.

At the Visitor Centre, we saw some pictures and photographs charting the progress of the NEWater technology and some commentaries about NEWater. What left us with a deep impression was a quote, "Water should not be judged by its history, but by its quality."  Our NEWater tour guide then told us that Singapore's first water masterplan was drawn up in 1972. In 1974, the Public Utilities Board (PUB) which is Singapore’s national water agency, built a pilot plant to turn used water into potable water. However, it was ahead of its time since the costs were astronomical and the membranes were unreliable, so the idea was shelved to await further technological advancement which came about a few years back.

We began with a small introduction about the Centre and then, we were taken to a room to watch a video clip. The video clip explained the need to conserve water, especially in Singapore. The clip also showed details about the NEWater process. We now understand that in Singapore, water comes through four taps; Local Catchment Water, Imported Water, NEWater and Desalinated Water.

Soon, we came to the most important part. We entered a corridor where we could see the water plant through the transparent window. The guide first introduced the technique they use to us.  Looking through a glass panel, we caught sight of the large machinery and workmen in white overalls.

The first stage of NEWater purification is called Microfiltration where water from the four taps is sent to be filtered.  It was interesting to see that the water was thoroughly cleansed before being sent to the second stage, the Reverse Osmosis (RO) stage, where water is then disinfected. The last stage is when Ultraviolet Rays are used to thoroughly give a final cleansing before being released to the reservoirs.

It was really difficult to tell which part was responsible for what work. Fortunately, there was a model of the real machine. The membranes of the first stage can keep out the most harmful bacteria and germs. We watched the model carefully; it was made up of a special kind of fiber. When we touched the interesting surface, we could really feel how small the sieve tubes are.

We took some bottles of NEWater they tasted the same as normal water.  All in all, we had a very fruitful Learning Journey where we found out more about this water purification technology and the learnt the need to conserve our precious water.

Reflection co-written by:
Wu Youqi (Prep Course; Lower Sec)
Emily Zhu Jieyi (Prep Course; Lower Sec)
Pan Zeyu (Prep Course; Upper Sec)
Qi Hong (Prep Course; Upper Sec)