QUEZON CITY (PIA)—The Metropolitan Waterways Sewerage System (MWSS) and Singapore’s Public Utilities Board (PUB) conducted a knowledge sharing session with local water district representatives at the MWSS Building, Quezon City last August 17.
September 2022 a Memorandum of Understanding with the Public Utility Board of Singapore witnessed by President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr. and Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong for water collaboration which includes the sharing of best practices.
“We want to make sure that our knowledge sharing here will be echoed to the provinces. One of the agenda of our President is water security and we want to impart to our brothers in the provinces and the remote barangays that what we are doing here will also help them have water security not only in Metro Manila, Cavite, Rizal and Bulacan but also to the other provinces of the Philippines,” MWSS Administrator Leonor Cleofas said.
She also said that PUB representatives inspected the Maynilad Water Putatan Water Treatment Plant in May 2022 and turned over recommendations to the agency.
PUB Industry and Technology Collaboration Department Director Michael Toh introduced the agency as Singapore’s lead in water and sewage management
“I think all of us today has a very noble and important mission. All of us work very hard to make sure that our people have clean water 24/7,” Director Toh said as he emphasized the importance of the knowledge sharing session on network loss management and leakage prevention.
PUB Consultant Ng Han Tong discussed that Singapore has four major sources mainly water from local catchment, imported water, desalinated water and the PUB’s recycled NEWater which is frequently used in fabrication plants.
In line with this, strict implementation of water usage and conservation in Singapore are backed by legislation as a network loss management measure.
For instance, households and establishments are required to use nozzles since open hoses are illegal and are fined.
All households also undergo water usage monitoring using gadgets used to measure consumption such as meters installed in showers.
Water meters also undergo frequent monitoring and recalibration in order to detect leakages at any level.
Violators of water regulation measures will be fined due to the country’s effective implementation and
Condominiums and towns undergo periodic water usage benchmarking in order to accurately gauge the country’s consumption.
Towards the latter end of the program, local water sector stakeholders exchanged their respective thoughts on the Philippine setting through an open forum with MWSS and PUB representatives. (GG/PIA)
