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  Today Online 23 Mar 06
1 minute less in the shower is 9 litres of water saved

Singaporeans can help reduce wastage as part of national effort to sustain water supply Lee U-Wen u-wen@newstoday.com.sg

NOT CONTENT with just being a top secondary school, Dunman High School is also stamping its mark as being one of the most water friendly. For its efforts from doing weekly river clean-ups to sending its students for training as NEWater Visitor Centre tour guides, the Public Utilities Board (PUB) saw fit to name the school as its first Friend of Water.

Friends of Water is a new annual award that recognises those who contribute significantly towards raising awareness about water and what it takes to sustain Singapore's water supply.

All the Friends of Water will also be in the running for a higher award--the Watermark Award --which will be given out during next year's World Water Day celebrations.

With yesterday being World Water Day, 500 Dunman High students also pledged to take the 10-Litre Challenge--a new initiative by the PUB to encourage everyone to reduce the use of water through simple everyday ways, together with Environment and Water Resources Minister Dr Yaacob Ibrahim.

Spending a minute less in the shower, for instance, can save nine litres of water, while rinsing your teeth with a tumbler instead of under a running tap can cut usage by up to 11 litres.

In line with the Government's targets under the Singapore Green Plan 2012, the PUB hopes to cut individual water use by 5 litres by 2012, from the 160 litres a day last year to 155 litres instead.

"We've settled the supply side of the problem with our four national taps. But this isn't the only way to solve the water problem. We need to get Singaporeans involved. What we're asking them to do is not beyond their ability," said Dr Yaacob.

He also unveiled a website (www.sec.org.sg/10litrechallenge/) which features a water consumption calculator to work out one's current water usage and provide tips on how to lower it.

Some tips to save water
Monitor your water bills
Take shorter showers
Wash vegetables and dishes in a filled sink
Use the washing machine only on a full load
Repair leaks promptly
Reuse water from the washing machine to flush the toilet
Use the half-flush in the toilet for liquid waste

Today Online 24 Mar 06
Water, water everywhere--much of it being wasted
Green gardens, but at what cost? Car-washing the culprit
Letter from David Soh
Letter from Colin Ong Tau Shien

MARCH 22 was World Water Day. But while some of us are trying to limit the water we use, other irresponsible organisations are wasting water while washing car parks and watering gardens.

A few weeks ago, when I was at Block 34, Chai Chee Avenue, I passed by an open space that had been transformed into a vegetable garden. In this garden was a tap with a long hose attached. While the spray mechanism fixed to the end of the hose was shut, the tap had been turned on, resulting in the water leaking. I located the cleaner and asked him to turn off the tap.

He in turn told me that the garden belonged to the Residents' Committee (RC). I asked him to remind those concerned to turn off the tap when not in use.

Worryingly, there are many more such gardens run by RCs, grassroots organisations and other non-government organisations at various HDB estates.

My question is: Why are we using tap water to water these gardens? Water from the drains near these gardens can be used instead. I hope something can be done immediately to save our precious drinking water from being wasted.

I AM heartened to read that Dunman High School has been named a Friend Of Water. The school's efforts will have positive effects that will be felt by future generations.

However, will the Government bring the same water conservation message to petrol companies which run round-the-clock car-washing services?
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