Summary reader response draft 1

 

In the article, “PUB Singapore water story”, the Public Utilities Board (PUB) address that Singapore’s water demand may double by 2060 due to the increase in population, to keep up with the demand, Singapore focuses on water management, such as collecting water from the local catchment and importing water from our neighbouring country, Malaysia. As Singapore- Malaysia Water agreement is set to end in 2061, NEWater and desalination were introduced, expecting to meet 85% of Singapore’s future water demand by 2060. In hope to see a decrease in water consumption, programs such as Water Closet Replacement Program are created to educate the community on water conservation. According to reports, PUB successfully saw a 15% reduction of household water consumption of a person per day. The demand for water is constantly on the rise with population and economic growth, as a result, Singapore will need to implement water infrastructure well ahead to secure an adequate and affordable supply of water for the future generations. Based on the points elaborated in the article, it seems clear that although every effort was made to ensure that water demand is met however, Singapore water conservation message got diluted by recent success. 

The article mentioned above made Singaporeans to assume that everything is going well and have solved the water security for the next 50-100 years, which is a false sense of water security and lack of public messaging. For instance, n an article published in TODAY, it mentioned that “during dry spells in recent years, PUB came out to reassure Singaporeans that the water supply will not be affected.” This might also implies that, “the drought is very serious, but don’t worry, we are in charge”, however I feel that the message should have been, “the drought is very serious, we are in charge but you have to be responsible too and use less.” In this way, the communication would have made people aware that they are also accountable for the increase in water consumption.

Similarly, in the same article, TODAY also mentioned that, “the recently announced 30 per cent hike in water fee was a necessary “shock treatment”. This sentence tell us that the authorities would not have to resort to increase the price of water if the message to conserve water has brought across, causing discontentment to Singaporeans. Instead, Singapore should have stresses on water security as a result of NEWater and desalination, which costs more due to the treatment process and not because of the reliant on water supplied by Malaysia.

The success story on NEWater might be one of the reasons why the message on conserving water become diluted as people might think that Singapore has solved its water security.

There is a gap between what Singaporeans know about the scarcity of water and putting that knowledge into action to conserving water. The major role in keeping up with the water demand is the nation but Singaporean have to take part in conserving the water too or else, the water demand could not be kept. Going forward, public messaging has to change, Singaporeans need to know that even with new technologies, water will remain a scare resource.

https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/price-success-how-spores-water-conservation-message-got-diluted