What is NEWwater?

NEWater is essentially wastewater, or sewage, that has been stringently purified using advanced dual-membrane, micro filtration, reverse osmosis, and ultraviolet radiation technologies in addition to conventional water treatment processes. NEWater uses reverse osmosis to treat wastewater before discharging it back into the reservoirs.

In 1998 the Singapore Water Reclamation Study (or NEWater Study) was formed as a joint initiative between the Public Utilities Board (PUB) and the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources (MEWR) to determine the suitability of using NEWater to supplement Singapore's water supply. The idea was to see whether NEWater could be mixed with reservoir water and then be treated with conventional water purification methods to produce potable water.

In 2001, PUB also formed a new initiative seeking to increase the supply of water from unconventional sources for nonpotable use in the manufacturing industry as well as in such applications as air-conditioning commercial buildings. This would free up large amounts of potable water for public consumption.

In July 2002, the PUB publicly announced NEWater as a major part of its future plans for water purification and production. By the end of 2002, two NEWater factories located at the Bedok and Kranji Water Reclamation Plants were completed. In February 2003, NEWater began supplying water to wafer fabrication plants at Woodlands and Tampines/Pasir Ris as well as other companies. In February 2004 another factory was completed at the Seletar Water Reclamation Plant. It began supplying NEWater to the wafer fabrication plants at Ang Mo Kio. The total capacity of the three factories to date is about 20 million gallons per day (0.9 m³/s). About 6 percent of this output meets 1 percent of Singapore's drinking water requirement of 300 million gallons per day (13 m³/s). The rest of the water is used in industrial and nonpotable applications.

Authorities state that NEWater is not used widely for direct consumption because the filtering processes remove minerals ordinarily present in drinking water. Another reason is that many people have a psychological barrier against drinking reclaimed water. Yet authorities stress that the quality of NEWater is actually cleaner than the water from Singapore’s other sources and consistently exceeds the USEPA requirements and WHO guidelines. Plans have been made to increase potable use up to 2.5 percent by 2011.

Water reclamation is a growing trend in the U.S. and around the world. In the U.S., several water reclamation projects are now being planned or under construction..

Related Articles:

The Four Barriers of the NEWater Purification Process

The Barriers in NEWater Production

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