Water pollution 

1. Water Borne- Infectious Diseases

•  Waterborne diseases are caused by a variety of microorganisms, biotoxins, and toxic contaminants
• For example, the 1993 Milwaukee Cryptosporidium outbreak. As Cryptosporidium oocytes were too small, they could easily pass through filters in the treatment plant. Water tests did not show any abnormal changes so they had a hard time figuring out the problem. Finally, they found Cryptosporidium in stool samples of affected people and shut down the affected water treatment plant.
• Therefore, it is important that our water is safe and does not get polluted as many people will be affected with devastating illnesses such as cholera, Cryptosporidiosis and other gastrointestinal problems

2. Oil/chemical spill

• Oil/chemical spill affects mainly marine wildlife in the oceans and indirectly affects us as fish and other seafood are our food source
• Very recently, in January this year, 300 tonnes of oil spill near our waters.
• Although PUB reported that the oil spill did not affect our raw water supplies but 100-200kg of fish were lost in the 3 coastal farms along the Straits of  Johor

Water shortage

The more applicable issue in Singapore would be water shortage. One of our national tap is imported water which is supplied from Malaysia. We once had 2 bilateral agreements with Malaysia to supply us with water, however, one has already expired in 2011 and the second agreement is expiring in 2061. This water supplied from Malaysia is also at expense of the weather, with dry spells in Malaysia, our water supply would dip.

The government have acknowledged the problem and urge people to conserve water. Although Singapore have came up with innovative and alternative water sources, we are still heavily dependent on imported water – 60% of our water supply is imported. Replying on NEWater and desalinated water creates another problem – energy supply. These processes require huge amount of energy in order to function. With the threat of water shortage, energy production strains and lack of natural resource of water, water shortage is a crisis. Ultimately, we should not take water for granted and conserve water as much as we can in order to maintain self-sufficiency and security.

References:

• https://www.niehs.nih.gov/research/programs/geh/climatechange/health_impacts/waterborne_diseases/
• http://www.aseantoday.com/2016/09/singapores-fight-for-survival-prime-minister-lee-warns-of/

Milwaukee, 1993: The Largest Documented Waterborne Disease Outbreak in US History

• https://www.pub.gov.sg/watersupply/fournationaltaps/importedwater