The method we chose and the reasons why:

We feel that overall, the best method for our country to cope with our severe water shortage is to use the method of water conservation. This is because we feel that it would be easier, safer and more efficient for the whole country to work together, hand in hand to save water. We should use money to hold campaigns, water rationing exercises and the mass media rather than to spend a huge capital on purifying rain water and used water to drinkable water. Also, it is also a win-win situation to educate the public about our country's water supply and ways to save water like using the water for laundry to mop the floor and using water washed from vegetables to water the plants. This can help increase the young's knowledge about water conservation. We can increase our water supply successfully if the whole country can have a water rationing exercise now and then. We believe that if the whole country can work hard, it would not be a problem for us to deal with this severe water shortage. Thank you.

Illustration of the process of NEWater

(Taken from PUB Singapore)

Water Conservation

This strongly encourages the young to save water as after hearing this song, the song will always be in their minds. This is one of the ways we can do by mass media to educate the public.

Desalination of Seawater

 

(Taken from google)

The different ways Singapore dealt with their water constraints.

Singapore has put place a diversified water supply system, also known as the 4 National Taps.
These 4 taps are;
Tap 1: Water from local catchments. (Reservoirs)
- There are 14 reservoirs island wide
- Half of Singapore is used as water catchments
- Strength: There are frequent rainfalls in Singapore.
- Weakness: The amount of water collected by the local catchment areas is not enough to sustain the whole Singapore.

Tap 2: Imported Water
- Singapore have been buying water from Malaysia since 1920.
-They signed 2 agreements in 1961 and 1962.
- However, it may not be the best solution as the countries may not want to continue supplying water.
- Strength: It is cheaper than desalinated water and NEWater.
- Weakness: It is unreliable as the water agreements expire in 2011 and 2061.

Tap 3: NEWater
- NEWater is obtained after reclaiming used water.
- Treated used water is further purified, making it suitable for human consumption.
- With the addition of the fifth and largest NEWater plant at Changi, NEWater now meets 30% of Singapore's total water demand.
- It is said that by 2060, NEWater is projected to meet 50% of Singapore's future water demand.
- Strength: There would be a constant supply of NEWater as humans produce waste everyday.
- Weakness: It is not cheap and incurs high cost.

Tap 4: Desalinated Water
- There is a SingSpring Desalination Plant in Tuas
- It supplies 136000 million litres of desalinated water daily, which meets about 10% of Singapore's water needs
- An integral role in Singapore's drive towards self-sufficiency
- Meet future needs at an affordable costs
- Strength: Very reliable.
- Weakness: It is very expensive and since there is only one plant, if it malfunctions, there would be no more plants.

Responses for rising demand for water:

Water conservation
1. Recycling household water
Singapore encourages the residents the recycle water from the washing of clothes for flushing toilets, and also using water from washing vegetables to water the plants. If every household does their part to save water, there will be a great change in the country's water usage.
2. Collecting rainwater
Singapore collects rainwater through pipes and drains to feed the resevoirs. Ultimately, the all the water inside the reservoirs will be recycled and purified to make it suitable for drinking and safe use.
3. Repairing underground piping systems
Singapore ensures the pipes in household do not leak to prevent the losing of water through leaking pipes and faulty connections. This will also help ensure the water usage in Singapore.
4. Using water saving methods and technology
Singapore encourages the public to use water drips instead of water sprays/ irrigation canals, and equipment factories; replace older equipment that uses more water with water saving equipments.
5. Educating the public
 Singapore held save water campaigns, water rationing exercises to educate the public about the different tips of saving water, and also reminded the public to save water where ever possible through mass media, as the famous saying in Singapore goes, ' Prevention is better than cure.'

Increasing the price of water
In order to control the rising demand of water, Singapore has increase the price of water. When this happens, the people will use water more efficiently and consiously. This helped to reduce the rising costs of producing and the distribution of water.

Increasing the supply of water
1. Expanding catchment areas
Catchment areas are areas where rain water is collected, by expanding the catchment areas, Singapore resulted in an increase in the amount of water collected. Also, it will help to keep the cost of water treatment down as the rainwater collected is much cleaner than used water and does not contain any impurities. Therefore, it is easier and less costly to purify the water.
2. Use of technology
The increasing of water through technology is where used water can be converted to useable water. In Singapore, used water is collected from households and factories and then channelled to water treatment plants where impurities are removed.
3. Desalination
Desalination is the process of removing salt from sea water, it is commonly used to convert sea water to drinking water in Singapore, this is to increase the supply of fresh water. There are various ways of desalination. One of which is where by the water is boiled and the water vapour is collected and condensed into fresh water. The other is the process of purifying sea water is the using of reverse osmosis where sea water is pumped at a high temperature through a special membrsne which separates the dissolved salts from the water.

Reasons for water constraints:

Reasons for water constraints:

Rapid population growth and increase in human activity
Due to the rapid population growth and increase in human activity, the usage of water increases. Drinking, cooking, bathing, washing, farming, manufactoring industries and cleaning/cooling machines needs the use of water.

Global climatic change
The global climatic change also affects the amount of water usage. Droughts causes water to dry up. and floods contaminate the water supply with dirt and bacteria. Examples are deforestations and global warming.

Limited supply of fresh water
There is a  limited supply of fresh water as salt water in seas and ocean makes up to 97% of the amount of water in the world.

Polluted water in rivers and lakes
The rivers our country do not provide an adequate supply of fresh water to meet our existing needs. In addition, although the rainfall is generally high, occasional dry spells are common, especially during the months of June to October. The amount of rainfall collected in water catchment areas is therefore not enough to satisfy the needs of the whole country. The second reason is the loss of many water catchment areas. This is because in the early 20th century, more land was cleared to make way for housing and industries. However, since then, more land has been set aside as water catchment areas.

Understanding the World's Water Crisis

Alternative Assessment for geography.

Scenario:
Your group is a delegation from a rich European country with a servere water shortage. The minister of water recources in your country has decided to send your group to Singapore to find out what they have done to increase their water supply successfully. After the end of your trip, you will have to come up with a proposal to introduce the different ways that Singapore has increased their water supply. The minister has indicated that he would prefer to see this in the format of a blog.

Task:
1. Find out the different ways that Singapore has dealt with their water constraints.
2. Provide an in-dept description of each method, using pictures, videos, diagrams, of illustrations.
3. Evaluate which method you think is the best method and provide reasons why you have chosen that method.

Things to take note of:
-Form groups of 2 or 3 with your classmates.
-Deadline for this assignment is on the 29th of april.
-Submitting this assignment in a form of a blog is preferred, however, should you want to submit this assignment in the form of a written report it is acceptable. Written reports should be in arial font, size 12, 1.5 spacing.
- 15 marks!

Rubrics:
>Content:
   - Detailed description of each of the ways that Singapore is using to increase their water supply.
   - References to named examples.
>Evaluation:
   - In-depth discussion of why one source of increasing water supply may be more useful then the other.
   - Clear reasoning as to how thwy came to a conclusion.
>Presentation:
   - Pictures, diagrams and videos used very well to contribute to the explaination of content.
   - Very well organized and clear.