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WEDNESDAY 5 MARCH 2014

Firms reel as Feb declared driest
month on record
1/19

The PUB has temporarily closed off the water-play areas in Lower...
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The PUB has temporarily closed off the water play areas at Lower...
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Burnt patches of dried grass was seen at Lower Seletar Reservoir on 4...
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Burnt patches of dried grass was seen at Lower Seletar Reservoir on 4...
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Some areas around the Lower Seletar Reservoir have dried up on 4 March...
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Some areas around the Lower Seletar Reservoir have dried up on 4 March...
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Some areas around the Lower Seletar Reservoir have dried up on 4 March...
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The PUB has temporarily closed off the water play areas at Lower...
[MORE]

The PUB has temporarily closed off the water play areas at Lower...
[MORE]

The PUB has temporarily closed off the water play areas at Lower...
[MORE]

The PUB has temporarily closed off the water play areas at Lower...
[MORE]

The PUB has temporarily closed off the water play areas at Lower...
[MORE]

A water fountain at City Square Mall was switched off to conserve water...
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A water fountain at City Square Mall was switched off to conserve water...
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A water fountain at City Square Mall was switched off to conserve water...
[MORE]

A water fountain at City Square Mall was switched off to conserve water...
[MORE]

A water fountain at City Square Mall was switched off to conserve water...
[MORE]

A water fountain at City Square Mall was switched off to conserve water...
[MORE]

A water fountain at City Square Mall was switched off to conserve water...
[MORE]

The PUB has temporarily closed off the water-play areas in Lower...
[MORE]

The PUB has temporarily closed off the water play areas at Lower...
[MORE]
Some cut water use; farmers expect low crop yields,
higher utility bills
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BY
WOO SIAN BOON
PUBLISHED: MARCH 5, 4:05 AM
(PAGE 1 OF 2) - NEXT PAGE | SINGLE PAGE
SINGAPORE With February being the driest month in Singapore since 1869, some
businesses have moved to cut their water use by deferring non-essential cleaning operations,
while the PUB has temporarily closed off the water play areas at Marina Barrage, Alexandra
Canal and Lower Seletar Reservoir to conserve water.
Others, such as vegetable farmers, have fewer mitigation options at their disposal their
prospects of delivering a harvest next month are withering as their water supplies dwindle, and
they expect to be hit hard in the pocket from higher water bills and low crop yield.
Yesterday, the National Environment Agency (NEA) said there were only seven days of short
showers last month, which occurred between Feb 7 and 19, mainly in the countrys western
areas, providing a brief respite from the record 27-day dry spell between Jan 13 and Feb 8.
A dry spell occurs when less than 1mm of rainfall is registered daily over an extended period of
at least 15 consecutive days.
Half of Singapores 64 rainfall stations recorded under 10mm of rainfall, compared to the long-
term average of 161mm for February. At the Changi climate station, only 0.2mm of rain was
recorded last month, breaking the previous record of 6.3mm registered in February 2010.
Singapore is in the grip of another dry spell that began on Feb 17, which was not relieved by the
brief showers on Monday. The PUB has sent circulars to 25,000 non-domestic customers urging
them to carry out water-saving measures. Developer City Developments (CDL) is among those
that have taken extra steps to manage water usage, such as by deferring scheduled external
facade cleaning and turning off or shortening the operating period of some water features at its
buildings.
Vegetable farmers TODAY spoke to said there was little they could do beyond turning on the tap
to water their crops a costlier move as their irrigation ponds dry up.
Managing Director of Yili Vegetation and Trading Alan Toh, 50, said he expects his monthly
water bill to double next month from the usual S$500. He estimates that the water supply from
his pond will last for another three days and is putting off planting more seedlings until the
situation improves. Right now, Im topping up my pond with tap water and recycling water by
using what we use to wash our vegetables to water my crops. We are also cutting down on the
amount of water we use when watering the crops, he said.
Mr Tan Koon Hua, 45, owner of Farm 85 Trading, said the dry spell has already led to his yield
dropping by 20 to 30 per cent at his 12ha farm in Lim Chu Kang. Theres nothing we can do
except hope and pray that it will rain, he said.
Pointing out that the farmers had faced a similar situation during a dry spell in 2008, Kranji
Countryside Association President Ivy Singh-Lim said the authorities should look into long-term
solutions to help them cope.
She said: Five years ago, a similar situation happened and the authorities came in to say that
they will be digging more ponds to help the farmers with their irrigation problems. But then it
rained and nobody followed up after. They should be looking at long-term solutions dont wait
for another drought to happen.
Mrs Singh-Lim said the association members had met the PUB last Friday to discuss solutions
and it had offered to sell the farmers non-potable water at S$0.25 per cubic metre. The farmers,
however, will have to fork out money for trucks to transport the water.
Said Mrs Singh-Lim: The water is very cheap ... but the trucking will cost more than S$300 (to
carry about 13 cubic metres). Potable water costs, if you add all the taxes and tariffs, if worst
comes to worst, costs S$2 per cubic metre. So we might as well use tap water.
As an interim measure, she suggested the authorities partially waive the affected farmers water
bills to help tide them over this period, such as by charging them the price of raw water instead of
potable water. The farmers will have to bite the bullet and pay, but I hope that PUB can seriously
consider giving them a discount.
The NEA reiterated that the dry weather affecting the region is expected to persist into the first
half of this month, with increased rainfall only expected in the later part of March.