Delhi’s water woes: How AAP plans to adapt Singapore’s ‘water re-use model’

By Newsgram Staff Writer

Water Scarcity would become a history in Delhi as Singapore water re-use model, in which waste water is filtered and used again, is being studied to be replicated here, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Monday.

Interacting with reporters at Rashtrapati Bhavan after attending the Padma awards presentation ceremony, Kejriwal said his government has already sent teams to Singapore to study its water supply model.

"Singapore does not have any water of its own. Almost 95 per cent of water comes from outside," he said, adding it has developed a system where used water is filtered and re-used and in such a way water used in toilets goes to toilets after it is filtered and similarly waste water from kitchen goes to kitchen again.

"We have been studying how it is done. We plan to begin with 10 to 15 pilot projects on the same in Delhi in a month or so," he said.

The water quality, after it is filtered, is as good as of mineral water, Kejriwal said.

If it could work in Delhi, "which I think it would", there would be no water shortage in the city, the chief minister said.

The concept of recycling wastewater certainly isn't new, with long-running initiatives already well underway in Israel, Spain, Scandinavian countries and the US. But with water re-use model, Singapore has quickly gained an international reputation for efficient recycling of wastewater. The initiative already supplies around one third of the country's water demand, and that number is expected to grow to more than half by the year 2060.

Singapore's water project has become an important model for the entire Asia Pacific region. Australia, too, has been purifying wastewater for years, though partially for different reasons.