The views expressed in this paper are the views of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the

views
or policies of the Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI), the Asian Development Bank (ADB), or its
Board of Directors, or the governments they represent. ADBI does not guarantee the accuracy of the
data included in this paper and accepts no responsibility for any consequences of their use.
Terminology used may not necessarily be consistent with ADB official terms.

Public Utilities Board

Scope of Presentation
Introduction
Early Sewerage / Water Reclamation Infrastructure
Sewerage Development Programme

Present Day Sewerage / Water Reclamation Infrastructure

Extension and Improvement to Sewerage
Infrastructure
Industrial Water and NEWater
Future Plans and Direction
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Public Utilities Board

Introduction
Singapore - small and densely populated country of
about 4 million people
Tropical Climate - diseases spread easily
Shortage of fresh water sources conservation
required
To prevent pollution of water courses and spread of
diseases, proper collection, treatment and disposal of
sewage necessary
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Public Utilities Board

Introduction
Objectives
1. To collect all wastewater through reliable
sewerage reticulation system.
2. To treat wastewater for safe disposal to the
sea and for reclamation.

Public Utilities Board

Introduction
Key Focus Areas Of Wastewater Management:
Provide, operate and maintain the public sewerage
system
Regulate the provision of sanitary facilities

Public Utilities Board

Early Sewerage Infrastructure

History
Late 1800s
- public health and sanitation problems
Before 1910
- most common method of sewage disposal was the
private collection of night soil in buckets
- direct discharge of sewage into open monsoon
drains was common

Public Utilities Board

Early Sewerage Infrastructure

First Sewerage Scheme in Singapore
Started off for the city area in the 1910s
Pumping stations at Park Road & River Valley Road
Alexandra Sewage Disposal Works
A trickling filter treatment system
Albert Street and Kampong Bahru Pumping Stations
were subsequently constructed

Public Utilities Board

Early Sewerage / Water Reclamation Infrastructure

Kim Chuan Water Reclamation Plant

To serve the eastern sector of the island
Late 1930s - Sewerage system with treatment works
at Kim Chuan Rd constructed
Kim Chuan Water Reclamation Plant and its
companion, Serangoon Sludge Treatment Works
commissioned in 1948

Public Utilities Board

Early Sewerage / Water Reclamation Infrastructure

Ulu Pandan Water Reclamation Plant

Alexandra Disposal Works was unable to cope with
the increasing flow and was subsequently abandoned
Replaced by new Water
Reclamation Plant (WRP)
using activated sludge
process at Ulu Pandan
which was commissioned
in 1961

Public Utilities Board

Sewerage Development Programme

Intensive sewerage development programme began
in the 1960s and accelerated in the 70s and 80s:
To meet demand of rapid housing and
industrialisation programme
To prevent pollution of watercourses

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Public Utilities Board

Sewerage Development Programme

Sewerage facilities development guided by landuse plan
Singapore divided into 6 sewerage catchments,
each served by a WRP:
11

Kim Chuan WRP

Ulu Pandan WRP
Bedok WRP
Kranji WRP
Seletar WRP
Jurong WRP
Public Utilities Board

Present Day Sewerage Infrastructure

SEWERAGE SYSTEM LAYOUT
HOUSEHOLDS
COMMERCIAL
PREMISES

INDUSTRIES

MANHOLE
PRETREATMENT
PLANT

WATER
RECLAMATION
PLANT

PUMPING
STATION

EFFLUENT
OUTFALL

SEA
SEWER

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Public Utilities Board

Present Day Sewerage Infrastructure

Singapores sewerage system consists of:
3,100 km of sewers
220 km of pumping mains
132 pumping installations
30 km of effluent pipe
Wastewater is collected
and conveyed to
6 Water Reclamation Plants
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Public Utilities Board

Present Day Sewerage Infrastructure

Sewage Pumping Stations
Operation of these unmanned stations is monitored
from a centralised installation
Central Monitoring Station (CMS)

14

Public Utilities Board

Present Day Water Reclamation Infrastructure

Wastewater Treatment Process
screen

primary settlement tank

GRIT
S

digestion tank

sludge thickener

aeration
tank

final settlement tank

de-watering
press
engine & generator

ELECTRICITY

15

FINAL
EFFLUENT

DRY CAKE

Public Utilities Board

Present Day Water Reclamation Infrastructure

Compact & Covered WRP Extension

Policy implemented since 1991
To reduce buffer zone around the WRP from 1 km to 500m and 200 m
ultimately
To release more land for higher value developments

1 km buffer
zone
500 m buffer
zone
200 m buffer
zone

16

MRT line

Public Utilities Board

Present Day Water Reclamation Infrastructure

A Typical Compact & Covered WRP Design

Above ground units - Digestors, Odour control, sludge storage etc

Below ground units - Screens, Aerators, Clarifiers etc

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Public Utilities Board

Extension / Improvement to Sewerage Infrastructure

Consists of:
a) Extension of Sewer Reticulation System
b) Improvement to Pumping Stations
c) Sewer & Pumping Main Rehabilitation

Also, extension and improvement for

a) Covering and Extension of WRPs

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Public Utilities Board

Extension / Improvement to Sewerage Infrastructure

a) Extension of Sewer Reticulation System

Jurong Island and Tuas View
Punggol, Woodlands / Sembawang New Towns
Phasing out of STPs in Marina Basin ($13 M)

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Public Utilities Board

Extension / Improvement to Sewerage Infrastructure

c) Sewer & Pumping Main Rehabilitation

Objectives:
To restore the structural integrity of sewers &
pumping mains
To reduce ground water infiltration
To enhance operational reliability of sewerage system

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Public Utilities Board

NEWater
NEWater Reticulation Network

(commissi one d)

Kranji
(prop osed)

Seletar

(U/C)

Ulu Pandan

Bedok
Legend
NEWater pipeline (Completed)

(prop osed)

NEWater pipeline (U/C)

NEWater pipeline
(Proposed/COT)
NEWater Plan t
Service Reservoir
NEWater Customer (Turned on)
NEWater Customer (Potenti al)

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Public Utilities Board

Industrial Water
Source Of Industrial Water
Jalan Buroh
Reservoir

Ulu Pandan
Water
Reclamation
Plant

Orchard/ Town
Area
Others

Jurong
Industrial
Estate
Jurong
Industrial
Water Works

Jurong
Island

Queenstown

Pumping
Station

SEA

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Pumping
Station

Discharge
Chamber

Pumping
Station

Chinatown

Pumping
Station

Public Utilities Board

Schematic Flow Diagram

To Sewer

Wastewater
effluent
from
UPWRP

Caustic Soda &

Sodium Hypochlorite
Dosing

Alum
Polymer

Flocculated
Sludge

Screen

Raw Water
Pump

Clarifier

Bandscreen

Raw water pump

Clarifiers

Sodium
Hypochlorite

Backwashed
Water

Sand
Filter
Bed

Sand
Filter
Clarified
Water

Filtered
Water

To
Consumers

Storage
Reservoirs

23

Treated Wa ter
Pumps

Treated Wa ter
Tank

Cascaded
Aera tor

Public Utilities Board

Industrial Water

Jurong Industrial Water Works

Phased Development
Phase

Year of
Commissioning

Design
Capacity
(m 3/day)

1966
1992
2000

45,000
20,000
60,000

Original Plant
1st Modular Plant
2nd Modular Plant
Total
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125,000
Public Utilities Board

Industrial Water

Industrial Water Usage

Washing
11%
Textile Usage
9%
Paper Making
5%
Toilet Flushing
2%

Cooling
73%

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Public Utilities Board

Industrial Water
Industrial Water Quality
Physical & Chemical
Characteristics (ppm)

26

Industrial
Water

Potable Water

Colour (HU)

5 - 15

<5

BOD

<5

Not detected

NH3 - N

5 - 15

Not detected

Suspended Solids

<8

< 0.1

Hardness

100 - 250

50 - 100

Chloride

100 - 500

35 - 100

Public Utilities Board

Planning for Long Term Needs of

Wastewater Management
Need to address 2 major issues:
Adequate and timely provision of sewerage
facilities to meet future needs
Enhance and prolong the life of existing
sewer reticulation system

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Public Utilities Board

Urban Sewerage Infrastructure

Specific Planning Issues
Land Constraints
existing WRPs and nuisance buffer zones take
up much land
Higher Environmental Standards
Risks of Water Resource Contamination
possibilities of sewage overflows within water
catchments
Visual Impacts
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Public Utilities Board

Future Plans and Direction

Deep Tunnel Sewerage System
World Class sewerage system
Phasing out of Pumping
Stations and WRPs
All sewage will be
channeled to 2 large
treatment plants at the
eastern and western
ends of the island

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Public Utilities Board

Future Plans and Direction

Benefits of the DTSS

All flows by gravity
all existing pumping stations will be phased out
Only 2 large WRPs
release land for other higher value developments
Highly compact facilities
less land uptake, co-siting of other uses
Discharge of the treated effluent by deep sea outfall
Higher quality effluent
10 BOD : 10 SS ( vs 20 BOD : 30 SS)
Possible source for future water reclamation

Future Plans and Direction

Benefits of Adopting the DTSS

Constructing DTSS will
cost less than continuing
with the current system

16
14
Billion $s

12
10
8

Saving $5 billion on land,

treatment costs.

6
4
2
0

Land

DTSS

Current System

Outfall
Treat
Convey

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Public Utilities Board

Future Plans and Direction

Benefits of adopting DTSS.

Release of more than 780Ha of land for
higher value uses

Land Use
Buffer (200m)
Total

32

Current
290 ha
699 ha
989 ha

DTSS
205 ha
205 ha

Public Utilities Board

Future Plans and Direction

Components of the DTSS

Tunnels
Water Reclamation Plants
Outfalls
Link Sewers

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Public Utilities Board

Future Plans and Direction

Tunnel cross section

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Public Utilities Board

Capacity of Current Water

Reclamation Plants
Water
Year
Capacity
Reclamation Commissioned (cu m per day)
Plants

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Kim Chuan

1948

242,000

Ulu Pandan

1961

286,000

Bedok

1979

232,000

Kranji

1980

151,000

Seletar

1981

114,000

Jurong

1981

164,000

Total

1,189,000
Public Utilities Board

Water Reclamation Plants

2 new Plants
Changi Water Reclamation Plant
(Phase 1 capacity 800,000 m3/day)
(Ultimate capacity 2,400,000 m3/day)
Tuas Water Treatment Plant
(Ultimate capacity 1,800,000 m3/day)

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Public Utilities Board

Diffuser Sectional View

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Public Utilities Board

Facts (Conveyance 2002)

Total length of public sewers maintained

2,958 km

Total number of pumping installations

maintained

134

Total volume of wastewater collected

480 million cu m

Total volume of wastewater conveyed via

pumping installations

312.1 million cu m

Total expenditure on development projects

$72.3 million

Total Operating Expenditure

$35.9 million

O & M cost for conveyance of wastewater

without depreciation

$49.30/1000m3

O & M cost for conveyance of wastewater with

depreciation

$77.50/1000m3

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Public Utilities Board

Facts (Wastewater Treatment 2001)

Total volume of wastewater treated

467 million m3

Average operating cost of treating wastewater

without depreciation

$144/1000m3

Average operating cost of treating wastewater

with depreciation

$263/1000m3

Breakdown of Operational Cost

Staff & Labour

31%

Fuel, Lubricant & Utilities

32%

Supply of materials

11%

Works & Maintenance

14%

Sludge Disposal

3%

OTP

6%

Others

3%

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Public Utilities Board