Singapore's Water Catchments

Singapore's urban planners have always made water one of their top priorities. As a land-scare country that was once heavily reliant on imported water from Malaysia, Singapore has developed more varied strategies to access water in recent years. These strategies fall into four main categories:

• Collecting rainwater in local catchment areas

• Importing water from Johor, Malaysia

• Recycling used water through NEWater (high-grade reclaimed water)

• Desalination

This blog post will focus on catchment areas, briefly exploring how these sites seamlessly blend into Singapore’s urban environment to serve multiple purposes.

Today, Singapore has 17 reservoirs, with a combined catchment area that covers two-thirds of the country. This makes Singapore one of the only countries in the world to actively harvest urban stormwater for consumption (PUB). The map below shows the distribution of Singapore’s catchment infrastructure:

Singapore's reservoirs (PUB)

Of these, the Central Water Catchment lies at the heart of Singapore and is home to its largest nature reserve. The mixture of wetlands and dense waterways makes it the ideal “natural sponge” for the city-state that can harbor significant amounts of precipitation. It simultaneously functions as a popular recreational site, being home to the Singapore Zoo and the Treetop Walk.

Singapore's Central Catchment Area (The Smart Local)

Singapore has successfully integrated its catchment reservoirs into the urban landscape — the famous Marina Bay is Singapore’s largest and most urbanized catchment area, covering over 10,000 hectares. It entered operation in 2010, 2 years after the completion of the Marina Barrage that separated Marina Bay from the ocean. Marina Bay can now meet up to 10% of Singapore’s water needs and hosts a range of sports activities, including rowing during the 2010 Youth Olympics.

The Marina Barrage (TODAY)

However, Singapore’s water strategy is not limited to the national level. Much work is done at the local level, too. Rain gardens have been set up in schools and malls to trap and treat as much rainwater as possible; permeable surfaces are also used in HDB estates around Singapore so that rainfall can be directed swiftly into waterways. These small-scale interventions show how we can all be involved in making our communities more water-resilient in the future. It could start with the simple act of purchasing a rainwater barrel and using this to satisfy water needs around the household, such as watering plants or cleaning.

Bibliography

Norhisham, Iffah Nabilah. ‘Complete Guide To Central Catchment Nature Reserve: All Parks, Hiking Trails & Activities’. TheSmartLocal - Singapore’s Leading Travel and Lifestyle Portal, 8 June 2023, https://thesmartlocal.com/read/central-catchment-nature-reserve/.

Siau, Ming En. ‘The Big Read: A Decade on, Marina Barrage Is Now Key to S’pore’s Water Management’. TODAY, https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/big-read-mere-idea-icon-marina-barrage-10-years.

‘Water from Local Catchment’. PUB, Singapore’s National Water Agency, http://www.pub.gov.sg/Public/WaterLoop/OurWaterStory/Local-Catchment-Water.