In November, national water agency PUB launched Phase Two of the Deep Tunnel Sewerage System (DTSS), which will be the conduit for all used water islandwide.

Countries around the world, including Singapore, have experienced unpredictable weather patterns. In Singapore, dry seasons are expected to worsen with climate change as well.

The DTSS will be critical in helping the Republic augment its water sources by reclaiming water, said Environment and Water Resources Minister Masagos Zulkifli.

When completed in 2025, the sloping infrastructure of giant pipes will harness gravity to channel used water in the western parts of the island to a new water reclamation plant in Tuas.

The $6.5 billion project will also free up space - 83ha of land or about as big as 116 football fields. Phase One, which serves the eastern parts of Singapore, was completed in 2008.

Samantha Boh