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Singapore Chronicles
Water
Water is more than a basic human necessity in Singapore. Its supply was a strategic collaboration between two British colonies and, later, formed the core of the two independent nations’ strategic relationship. This book traces the story of how Singapore was almost totally dependent on the Malay Peninsula to quench its daily thirst and how it has now become almost self-sufficient. Water is also a catalyst for a nation’s economic development, and lies at the heart of a city’s living environment. This book details the transformation of the water landscape made possible by judicious long-term planning alongside technology and policy innovation. It ends with a view of the nation’s future opportunities, both economic and strategic, that have been created as a result of this transformation.
100 pages, Paperback
First published December 1, 2016
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June 18, 2021
My plan is to slowly make my way through the Singapore Chronicles and Water is the third book in the series that I've read (after Civil Society and Heritage). So far, all the books have been useful primers on the respective issues and Singapore's operating context.
Compared to Civil Society and Heritage, Singapore's water story is relatively well-known so the key points in this book are probably familiar to Singaporeans. (One thing I learned from the book was about Singapore's development of variable salinity plants that could treat both seawater and fresh water - a world's first!) I knew that PUB had strong technical expertise but Water made clear just how intentionally and systematically PUB built up a deep pool of top-notch water expertise, given that water was seen as a matter of survival and LKY famously said that "every other policy [had] to bend at the knees for [Singapore's] water survival".
I'd read Public Housing after Water and both read like they were probably drafted by a group of civil servants. Of the two, Water is better written. It doesn't go into excruciating operational details that in the larger scheme of things, are irrelevant to our understanding of water's importance to Singapore, how the government organised (and re-organised) itself and how policies evolved to strengthen water management.
Compared to Civil Society and Heritage, Singapore's water story is relatively well-known so the key points in this book are probably familiar to Singaporeans. (One thing I learned from the book was about Singapore's development of variable salinity plants that could treat both seawater and fresh water - a world's first!) I knew that PUB had strong technical expertise but Water made clear just how intentionally and systematically PUB built up a deep pool of top-notch water expertise, given that water was seen as a matter of survival and LKY famously said that "every other policy [had] to bend at the knees for [Singapore's] water survival".
I'd read Public Housing after Water and both read like they were probably drafted by a group of civil servants. Of the two, Water is better written. It doesn't go into excruciating operational details that in the larger scheme of things, are irrelevant to our understanding of water's importance to Singapore, how the government organised (and re-organised) itself and how policies evolved to strengthen water management.
Displaying 1 of 1 review