Do You Know?

In 1950, when Singapore's population was 1 million, our daily consumption averaged 142,000 cubic metres. In 1995, with a population of about 3 million, our consumption rose, not 3 times in proportion with population growth, but nearly 8 times.

Singapore's ever-increasing population uses water frequently and without thought such as leaving the water on when they bathe and brush their teeth. Thus, they are actually using water that could be saved! This is one of the main reasons why Singapore's water supply is so high. Another of the reasons is that Singapore has a dense population on scarce land, hence the land cannot provide enough water for the people.

Although the government have thought of measures such as constructing reservoirs in the nation and signing water treaty with malaysia, it is still not sufficient.If the water supply decreases, the price of water will increase. Industries using water to cool down their machines will have to pay more for the water, thus either they raise their prices or they suffer in silence.

As a result, foreign companies will not chose to set up their industries here. Therefore there will be unemployment problems in Singapore and a lot of Singaporeans will suffer. What's more, Singaporeans will have to pay more for their water and, already having lost their jobs, will have to dig into their savings to pay.

One of those water treaties expires in 2011. And the second treaty expires in 2061.