Urban System Studies Water From Scarce Resource to National Asset

Water: From Scarce Resource to National Asset recounts Singapore’s remarkable water story. Although surrounded by water, Singapore is one of the world’s most water-stressed countries. Singapore’s water system involves a delicate balancing act on two fronts. Firstly, the country seeks to maintain its imported water supply from Malaysia, while ceaselessly exploring alternative sources through technology and public mobilisation. Secondly, it has to balance land requirements for water catchments with competing needs for housing and industry. Demand is also calibrated to the thimbleful. As an expensive commodity, water is priced to reflect not just the high cost of storage, processing and distribution, but also its strategic value. Public education and community engagement were also used to manage demand. This study also examines how Singapore achieved a paradigm shift in its water management by using new technologies, such as membranes and desalination, new drainage and flood control systems, as well as innovations such as building reservoirs in urban areas.