PUB to launch new national standard to help companies boost water efficiency

Singapore will launch a new national standard for water efficiency management systems for non-domestic users on Friday.

The standard, the first of its kind in the world, will provide firms with a framework, methodology and guidelines to institute policies, systems and processes to improve their water efficiency.

National water agency PUB, which is introducing the standard, will also boost its subsidies for companies to install water meters and to conduct water usage audits.

It will now co-fund 90 per cent of the audit costs, up from 50 per cent, and pay for 90 per cent of the installation or upgrading costs for remote metering. These are subject to caps of $10,000 for companies that use less than 3,000 cubic metres of water per month, and $15,000 for the rest.

The PUB has also introduced two additional tiers in its Water Efficient Building certification programme, to better recognise exemplary companies.

The new standard is part of the PUB's 10 per cent challenge, which encourages non-domestic water users to develop water efficiency management plans to analyse their water usage and come up with ways to reduce it.

Water demand in Singapore is currently about 400 million gallons a day, with about 55 per cent of this from the non-domestic sector. This demand could rise to almost 800 million gallons per day by 2060, with non-domestic users' share rising to 70 per cent, the PUB has said.

"It is therefore critical for non-domestic water users to have a system in place to manage their water usage more efficiently and play their part in conserving water," said Mr Chong Hou Chun, PUB's director of the water supply network.

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