The Singapore International Water Week (SIWW) 2011 opened on 4 July with unprecedented support from the global water community. The SIWW 2011 theme is Sustainable Water Solutions for a Changing Urban Environment. The SIWW is an annual platform for water solutions and it addresses the latest and most pertinent water challenges amidst a rapidly urbanising world. Recognising the impact of global population growth, increasing urbanisation and rising emerging economies on precious resources, the focus at the SIWW 2011 goes beyond urban water solutions, to include climate change and management of watersheds and river basins.
The Opening Ceremony, which was attended by more than 1,800 guests. Singapore’s Deputy Prime Minister & Minister for Finance & Manpower, Tharman Shanmugaratnam was Guest of Honour at the opening ceremony. While suggesting that the journey towards water security would always be a work in progress for Singapore, as new challenges emerge in the urban environment, the Minister further added that these challenges were not unique to Singapore – cities around the world would have to contend with issues such as weather extremities in the context of urbanisation, increasing water demand, and higher public expectations. He called upon the water community to take collective action to surmount these challenges.
Keeping in line with Singapore’s position as a key driver in the research and development of new sustainable water solutions, SIWW 2011 lays a specific focus on innovation and R&D at Water Expo. The inaugural Water Innovations showcased five new R&D projects spawned in Singapore. In addition, inventors of these projects were to be connected with investors at the first ever TechXchange platform to facilitate commercialisation and to bring the latest advances in solutions to the marketplace.
The Water Expo attracted six new international group pavilions this year. These are Australia, Belgium, the United Kingdom, the Milwaukee Water Council (USA), the Water Environment Federation (USA), and the Maryland-Asia Environmental Partnership (USA); taking the number of group pavilions to 15.
Michael Toh, Managing Director of Singapore International Water Week, said “The Singapore International Water Week brings together the entire water value chain at its five flagship programmes. It is the ideal platform for key stakeholders to meet, engage in dialogue, explore solutions, formulate strategies and achieve best solutions for sustainable water management in today’s ever changing environment. We are raising the bar continually and constantly charting new frontiers. With bigger participation and new initiatives at the Water Expo, we hope to deliver an enhanced experience to all trade participants.”
The immense business potential of the event and scope for opportunities in the water industry at SIWW’s 2011 Water Expo is highlighted by the biggest ever turnout with more than 600 participating companies representing a 70% increase since 2008. Water Expo 2011 is also the largest ever in exhibition booth space, marking close to 70% growth since the event’s inception.
Mrs Lies Janssen, Senior Project Officer, Netherlands Water Partnership of the Netherlands Pavilion said, “The theme for this year’s Singapore International Water Week – “Sustainable Water Solutions for a Changing Urban Environment” – embodies our vision to provide innovative and sustainable water solutions for the world. As a key player in the Water Expo, the Netherlands Pavilion provides a dedicated platform for our exhibiting companies to showcase the latest solutions and innovations that can be adapted to the water challenges faced by the fast-evolving needs of emerging markets and changes in environmental landscapes.”
It is noteworthy that Water Expo has grown since 2008 to become Asia’s most important and comprehensive water industry exhibition focusing on innovations, products and services. It also provides businesses a gateway to the regional water market.
According to Peter Gourlay, President and Founder of the Maryland-Asia Environment Partnership, Singapore as a strategic gateway to the Asian water market and the Singapore International Water Week is a key platform for “our business representatives to connect with existing customers and forge new relationships in this region.”
Further endorsement of the value that the SIWW delivers to global water businesses is the addition of five new Founding Sponsors this year. They are Memstar, Mitsubishi Rayon, Mitsubishi Electric Asia Pte Ltd, MWH Consultants and PWN Technologies, taking the total to 22 Founding Sponsors.
Jimmy Lau, Managing Director of Experia Events, the event organiser of the SIWW 2011 says: “The high level representation at the Singapore International Water Week and the growth of the Water Expo underline the status of the event. The Singapore International Water Week has earned recognition as a must-attend global water event, providing all participants a great opportunity to network, forge new partnerships and explore business opportunities.
The Water Leaders Summit 2011, jointly organised by SIWW and the International Desalination Association, aims at shaping global dialogue in the water industry. More than 350 water leaders from around the world had gathered to discuss topics arising from water governance, technology and business issues that impact communities worldwide.
The SIWW 2011 witnessed a gathering of some 1,200 experts to discuss technological solutions and examine current trends in water treatment and global water challenges. There will also be some 350 oral and poster presentations on the themes of Solutions for Water Systems Efficiency & Effectiveness; Planning for Sustainable Water Solutions; Water Quality & Health; and Governance & Finance.
Insights into the business potential of the world’s key markets in the Americas, Australia, China, Europe, India, Japan, Middle East & North Africa and Southeast Asia were presented at eight Business Forums. With ministers, CEOs and water leaders in attendance, the Business Forums offer participants a platform to engage in high-level exchanges and discover the potential development projects and market trends.
Singapore Prime Minister’s Address
Speaking at the Suntec Convention Centre to more than 1,500 government officials, NGOs and water industry experts attending Singapore International Water Week,Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong described the planning that went into Singapore’s transformation over the past 50 years from a city with water shortages and open defecation to a pioneer in water management. He further said: “The most important thing really may not be the water itself, but the ability of the city to administer an effective, competent honest government, within which sensible things can be done.”
For Singapore, this meant combining its water supply agency, PUB, with the sewerage department, then held under the National Environment Agency. It also meant cleaning up its water ways and introducing water pricing schemes in a way that was acceptable to the public.
Prime Minister Lee said a significant step in the development of Singapore’s water system was finding that if they treated sewage properly they could reuse the water. “If you improve the sewage treatment process, then you can actually save on NEWater production, …but to make two ministries work together and optimise the whole water cycle is not easy.”
Singapore PM Lee Hsien Loong answers questions on urban water development at the 2011 Singapore International Water Week.
Photo: SIWW
Prime Minister Lee noted that cities need to get the price right so people understand that water is a scarce resource and value it. “If you make it free nobody will bother to turn off the tap,” he said, adding that at the same time, good water pricing allows water producers to get a return on their investment and make the finances work.
Acknowledging that charging for water can be politically difficult, Prime Minister Lee explained the government’s gradual approach to water pricing, which began 15 years ago with a rate of only one third the targeted cost of water. He said they increased the rate over the course of a few years in combination with subsidies for low-income groups and public education campaigns. “Today we price water at what it is worth, which is what it would cost us to desalinate,” he said.
Prime Minister Lee said that other countries trying to solve their water problems should make the issue a priority. “Be prepared to move on a national basis…When you need to make major changes, for example on pricing, be prepared to do that. But at the same time, buffer the impact on the population,” he said.
He warned that the economic costs of a dysfunctional water system were very high, particularly when residents are forced to buy bottled water, which he said cost about 100 times the amount that Singaporeans pay for their tap water. “If you can get your system working, it’s a tremendous savings for your city,” he said.
Prime Minister Lee said a significant step in the development of Singapore’s water system was finding that if they treated sewage properly they could reuse the water. “If you improve the sewage treatment process, then you can actually save on NEWater production, …but to make two ministries work together and optimise the whole water cycle is not easy.”Singapore’s Water Self-Sufficiency
Singapore’s push for more self-sufficiency in water began with the realisation that its almost complete reliance on imported water presented a national security threat. Singapore currently has two water treaties with neighbouring Malaysia. One expires this August. The other expires in 2061, by which time, the island nation plans to have the capacity to provide all its own water.
PUB has invested heavily in research and development (R&D) and partnered with multiple technology companies to create capacity for desalination, water recycling and water harvesting from local catchment areas. Singapore currently harvests water run-off from two-thirds of the island and has plans to increase that amount to 90 per cent. By 2060 NEWater, or water recycled from wastewater treatment plants, will meet half of the expected water demand and desalinated water will meet about a third.
PUB has also introduced measures to reduce demand, including incentives for industry to develop water efficiency strategies, certification for water efficient buildings and public awareness campaigns to reduce daily per capita water demand from its 2010 level of 155 litres to 147 litres by 2020. The ability to invest in new technologies and reducing demand both depend on the government’s water pricing policies.
India at SIWW 2011
A high-level Indian delegation led by the Minister of Water Resources, Shri Salman Khurshid,including among others Dhruv Vijai Singh, Secretary Ministry of Water Resources and Mihir Shah, member Planning Commission, participated in the Singapore International Water Week (July 4-8). Addressing the Singapore International Water Week – India Business Forum 2011, Shri Dhruv Vijai Singh, Secretary, Ministry of Water Resources, said that in today’s world the growing population, industrialization and urbanization are posing challenges in water sector and as such there is an urgent need that all stakeholders – policy makers, industries and people discuss and make efforts for sustainable development and efficient management of a prime natural resource – water.
While talking to media persons on the sidelines of the meeting of the India Business Forum, Mihir Shah, Member, Planning Commission of India, who holds the charge of water in the Planning Commission, said that India’s Planning Commission was working on radically overhauling India’s water sector during the upcoming 12th five year plan period with an emphasis on understanding the resource base and enhancing water management in agriculture and industry.
In particular, the country’s highest planning body wants to create a pricing mechanism for water in the agriculture sector, which absorbs about 80 per cent of India’s total water requirement, with the intention of making farmers pay for the operation and maintenance of delivery systems.
He further said: “It is not enough to create more and more installed capacity. We have to improve water-use efficiency, which is among the lowest in the world and we have to make a multiplier increase in that. That involves new management techniques, involving the stakeholders, forming water user associations and making sure that people are paying for the water that they use, because if you don’t pay for the irrigation water, you actually endanger the right to drinking water.”
The Secretary said that two serious challenges face the world today: Food Security; and Climate Change – and water is a crucial element in both of these. He said that the objective of food security cannot be achieved without water security. This is more so in case of countries like India, which is primarily an agriculture based society, where agriculture provides livelihood for majority of its people. Shri Dhruv Vijai Singh informed the Business Forum that India has launched a National Water Mission this year with the main objectives as ‘conservation of water, minimizing wastage and ensuring its more equitable distribution both across and within States through integrated water resources development and management’. One of the important goals of this mission is to increase the water use efficiency by 20%, over the next five years, the Secretary said.
