Newater Visitor Centre in Bedok to close its doors on July 31
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The Newater Visitor Centre in Bedok will be closing its doors after more than two decades of promoting water sustainability.
PHOTO: PUB
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SINGAPORE – National water agency PUB said the Newater Visitor Centre in Bedok will be closing its doors on July 31, after more than two decades of educating the public about water sustainability and welcoming more than 1.7 million local and international visitors.
Officially opened in February 2003, following the completion of the first Newater plants in Bedok and Kranji, the centre offered the public a way to learn about the ultra-clean, high-grade recycled water through interactive displays, tours, exhibits and workshops.
The adjacent Bedok Newater factory, the oldest Newater production plant launched in the same year, will also cease operations on July 31 upon reaching the end of its operational lifespan, said PUB on June 24.
As part of a guided tour at the Newater Visitor Centre, visitors could observe the process of Newater production at a viewing gallery in the adjoining factory.
The Bedok factory will be replaced by a third Newater factory at the Changi Water Reclamation Plant,
At its advent, Newater was hailed as a breakthrough that would help Singapore gain water self-sufficiency.
It is one of the four national taps – along with local catchments, imported water and desalinated water – that maintain a sustainable and diversified water supply.
PUB is in the midst of transitioning to a new used water management system, where used water will be transported to three water reclamation plants in the northern, western and eastern regions in Singapore via a 206km-long network of deep tunnels.
PUB’s Newater factories will eventually be consolidated at the three water reclamation plants in Changi, the upcoming Tuas plant which is expected to be completed in 2026,
Newater is primarily used for non-potable industrial and air-conditioning cooling purposes at wafer fabrication plants, industrial estates and commercial buildings.
During dry periods, Newater is added to Singapore’s reservoirs to supplement Singapore’s potable water supply. The water is then treated at waterworks here before it is supplied for domestic use.
The idea of using reclaimed water to supplement the existing water supply was considered by PUB as early as the 1970s.
The first Water Master Plan, drafted in 1972, outlined Singapore’s strategies for securing an adequate supply of water from local sources and exploring alternative options such as water reclamation and desalination.
PUB and the then Ministry of the Environment (ENV), now the Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment, began the Singapore Water Reclamation Study – also known as the Newater Study – in 1998 to assess the viability of using Newater to supplement Singapore’s water supply.
After PUB engineers found that the reliability of water treatment technologies had improved greatly and production costs had declined since the 1970s, a prototype Newater demonstration plant at the Bedok water reclamation plant was opened in May 2000.
Between 2000 and 2002, Newater was put through rigorous testing to make sure it met the strictest international drinking water standards set by the World Health Organisation and the US Environmental Protection Agency.
An independent panel of local and international experts reviewed the Newater Study. While deeming it safe for drinking, they recommended incorporating Newater into the water supply, rather than using it directly as drinking water.
Understanding that public trust was essential for Newater to be a viable source of water, PUB and ENV launched a comprehensive public education exercise in 2002.
The campaign included inviting grassroots leaders and MPs to the Newater demonstration plant in Bedok to better understand the Newater production process so that they could see how clean and odourless the water was and spread the message to the public.
Tens of thousands drank Newater at the National Day Parade on Aug 9, 2002, after then Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong led the crowd in a toast to Singapore.
ST PHOTO: JOYCE FANG
Offering a strong show of support during the National Day Parade in 2002, then Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong led 60,000 people in a toast to Singapore with Newater.
In 2021, then Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, in his speech at the official opening of the Keppel Marina East Desalination Plant
When The Straits Times contacted PUB on June 24, the agency said that it is not yet ready to share any future plans for Bukit Timah Waterworks.
PUB chief executive Ong Tze-Ch’in said: “Over two decades, Singaporeans young and old have made the journey to the Newater Visitor Centre to learn about how we recycle used water endlessly, allowing us to overcome our lack of natural water resources. With (the centre’s) closure, PUB will explore new platforms for education on our Newater story.”
The centre BookingSG
Editor’s note: In an earlier version of the story, we used the older name - Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources - instead of Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment. This has been corrected.
