Oliva Ng and Minister Yaccob Ibrahim

On Tuesday, Jul 27 2010, my colleague Paul Ramani and I went down to Marina Barrage with three students to receive a certificate of appreciation for Ngee Ann Polytechnic’s participation in the Singapore International Water Week 2010. It was a culmination of months of hard work, planning, teeth-gnashing, nagging, marshalling and worrying.

Our News Writing module never covered real-world events. Could our occasionally young and sheltered 18-year-olds nail the stories? Could they deliver on Black & Veatch’s SIWWdiary.com and still write stories for their own newspaper projects on water?

Even though we were the smallest contingent among all the five polytechnics that day, I was just so thrilled to see our petite Olivia Ng Li Wen receive the certificate from Minister for the Environment and Water Resources, Dr Yaacob Ibrahim.

While my students and colleague disappeared into the buffet queues, I wandered to catch the view of the Singapore Flyer in the sunset as I walked beneath the fountains. I was particularly mesmerised by the arresting architecture of Marina Bay Sands rising above the barrage into the night sky like a sea dragon.

Minister Yaacob Ibrahim and Ngee Ann Poly students and staff

I drank in the sight – I didn’t need dinner. I was thinking of how it reminded me of the line “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.”

It is the seductive first line of Professor Robert Glennon’s book, Unquenchable: America’s Water Crisis and What To Do About It. He goes on to say how this line sums up how Sin City “invites visitors to lose their inhibitions, violate their moral principles, forget about their spouses, and ignore their credit card balances.” Water in Las Vegas is consumed as if the city is not in a desert; as if it has not exhausted its rights to Colorado River water from Lake Mead, notes the good professor.

That was how Marina Bay Sands looked to me – a multi-headed hydra of temptation and power rising above the gentle curves of the barrage.

It reminded me of the buzz at the Singapore International Water Week from Jul 28 to Jul 2. In just five days, our students had to pick their way through a heady confluence of brains, power, ambition and influence, and yes, even misgovernance, to sniff out stories for their newspaper project. I don’t know a more intriguing mix of stories and news makers for a journalism student who had only started on News Writing for three months.

Yes, our students were young but they were unafraid. At no point did they turn tail and run. And for that I am very proud of them.

Joshua Tay wrote about meeting ambassadors while Iris Koh and Shona Rajamohan wrote about effusive water companies selling a great variety of technology at the Water Expo. There was no limit to any problem and money readily rolled.

Getting their posts published on SIWWdiary was great. But to be asked by the moderator to re-edit was to learn to be as fast and business-like as a real-world writer. And to be in the thick of political speeches about water policy for the next 50 years gave our students Fanny Koh and Olivia Ng a glimpse into how pressing hydro-political issues were.

Essentially, it is decided, Singapore will rely less on imported water and be more aggressive in pursuing a water conservation policy aimed at harvesting “every drop of water” over 90 percent of our land area. We will also use more reclaimed water and build a second desalination plant.

I am particularly drawn to how Prof Glennon writes about Las Vegas’ hungry yet relentless re-invention despite being stuck in a desert. The general manager of Southern Nevada Water Authority, Pat Mulroy, pitched water conservation to casino owners and developers as a business issue, he said. Thus Steve Wynn built a state-of-the-art reverse osmosis wastewater treatment system beneath Treasure Island. “Everything  that hits the sewer system is recycled… we recycle 100% of our water,” boasts Ms Mulroy in Prof Glennon’s book.

If a one-time whistle stop on a railroad in the desert can become the fastest-growing city in the US, and the No. 1 convention destination that received 39 million visitors in 2006, why can’t Singapore reinvent itself to recycle and reuse 100% of its water and grow from good to great?

Our journalism students can be part of the dream, telling that story for generations of Singaporeans to come.

I could not have imagined a better event supported by more committed people from PUB and Black & Veatch. My deepest appreciation goes to Sharon Chang and Lilian Lim who first asked Ngee Ann to contribute student volunteers; and to Constance Ward and Keith Morrison of Black & Veatch for their nurturing enthusiasm.

In the coming weeks, we will be going through a debrief and we hope to find ways to do it better another time. Here’s hoping we will meet again next year.

Posted by Joh Ting KOH, Lecturer, School of Film & Media Studies, Ngee Ann Polytechnic

Water Songs List

Posted by Constance Ward

With PUB’s ‘Active, Beautiful, Clean’ (ABC) Waters programme, the dream of ‘that summer’ can now be realized. It does this by naturalizing Singapore’s waterscape, an appealing energy and environmentally friendly way to do so. Turning water canals into water spaces (a water works in the making!) would definitely open up new lifestyle and leisure alternatives for the public, and keeps in line with Singapore’s image as a Youth Olympic city – brimming with youthful verve and vigour. Certainly, I wouldn’t disagree with the decision to naturalize Singapore’s waterscape – not when you will have muscled men with washboard abs and bronzed golden skin, dotting the waterscape, rowing their kayaks fuelled by raw testosterone.

I attended the opening of the Family Bay at the Lower Seletar Reservoir on 27 June 2010, among one of PUB’s ABC Waters programme projects. Tottering about in high heels was certainly not the way to go, not when I had to take care not to walk between the cracks in the tiled pavement, in case it would scratch my heels (hey…I was trying to dress corporate to look professional. How wrong I was when I turned up at the event and saw everyone, from the officials, dressed in de rigueur polo tees and pants, to fellow school mates dressed smart casual to suit the hot weather). It was interesting to note how much Singapore’s waterscapes have changed since the initiation of our own piped water supply in 1867, and that the turn towards the naturalization of local waterscapes also reflects a change in Singapore’s gradual change into a cosmopolitan city, with ample lifestyle and leisure alternatives, be it on land, air or water.

I have always felt pangs of envy whenever I saw how beautiful other countries’ water ways were (some drains in Japan even have koi fishes swimming in them!), and have always wanted to hold the quintessential summer (what summer. Singapore is summer all year around…well save for the monsoon seasons. But you get my point. I am hankering after the feeling, that summertime je ne sais quoi you get whenever you watch those schmaltzy Hollywood/ Japanese/ French romantic movies, where they always detail in nostalgic fondness about ‘that summer’, where they had barbeques on the river banks, and swam and caught their fish fresh from the river, and slept under the sky at night, with only the moon and the stars for company…) barbeque on the river banks, or perhaps something more chi-chi like afternoon tea times on the river banks (with the chink of elegant china and all…ahhh imagine the good life). Anyway, I am digressing. What I meant to say is that I can’t wait till the next ABC Waters project gets completed (Bishan Park), where I could perhaps get closer to the dream of “that summer, by the river, we…”

Dreams of ‘that summer’ (say this with that sigh of nostalgia and dreamy eyes that tell of a never forgotten memory) will no longer be a pipe dream for Singaporeans.

Posted by Gwendoline Sim, School of Film & Media Studies, Ngee Ann Polytechnic

Crowds mingle at the Dinner and enjoy the varied culinary delights!

The 2010 SIWW Appreciation Dinner was another great success!  This year the event was held at the Marina Barrage. With a stunning view and an exceptional crowd, the attendees of the dinner were given one last chance to reflect back on the successes of this year’s event.

As I've written before, the Marina Barrage is such an impressive facility - here it is lit-up at night

James and I, the Black & Veatch Leadership Interns stationed here in the Singapore Office, had successes of our own.  With the opportunity to attend most of SIWW, we learned the vastness of the water industry.  Even

more astonishing to us was the close-knit nature of such a large community.  Old friends pick-up right where they left off last year at SIWW.

A beautiful view over Marina Bay to end such a great learning experience this summer in Singapore

Taking the advice of the B&V Chairman, President and CEO, Len Rodman, James and I have been and will continue to soak up as much as we can. We are thankful that Mr. Rodman and Mr. Dan McCarthy, B&V Water CEO and the creator of the Black & Veatch Water Leadership Experience, afforded us the opportunity to experience such a knowledge-rich environment.

All-in-all, it has truly been an exceptional summer working in the Singapore community of Black & Veatch.

Share your memorable experiences here as a comment.  And enjoy our pictures taken at the event on Tuesday 27 July also.

Posted by Bruce Cooley (and James Cooling)

Just one of the colourful rafts on show

But after arriving, I was shocked to discover how fun and engaging the event was.

Being targeted at youths, all the different stations and activities at this event really pointed out the importance of water in our small country in less-than-conventional and indirect ways. For instance, the event taking place at the barrage itself brought me to realise Singapore’s need for efficient and effective water management systems, due to the large role the barrage itself plays in this. In addition, the event gave me the chance for my very first visit to the barrage too.

Also, contrary to what many of my fellow course mates believe – that the event focused too much on water sports rather than water conservation itself – I feel that those very water sports activities are a great way to show us youths how important a clean water supply is. The very participation and witnessing of all the dragon boat and raft races at the barrage were in themselves a celebration and appreciation of the clean water us Singaporeans get to enjoy, but take for granted, on a day-to-day basis. All of the water sport athletes there would not have been able to enjoy their sport if not for our country’s water management systems and plans, such as the Marina Barrage.

The knowledge I gained from speaking to the students from Singapore Polytechnic’s drama club was also a large eye-opener for me. They taught me about the dire state of other countries and their water supply, where a large majority of the population have limited to no clean water at all. To these people, the very water us Singaporeans get the privilege of drinking, is an absolute luxury, and this knowledge only increased my appreciation of our nation’s water supply.

This event, co-organised by Singapore Polytechnic and PUB has certainly highlighted the importance of water to me without being boring and stale, for without clean and sufficient water, none of the water-related activities featured would have even been possible.

Posted by Luke Lim Yi Ming, School of Film & Media Studies, Ngee Ann Polytechnic

I have attended the Asia Pacific Youth Water Forum. We were told how Singapore has progressed and how it is an essential to have clean drinkable water.

This should be common knowledge to us, Singaporeans. We are being taught the different methods of water conservation since a young age, but how often do we implement them?

Everything that Singapore has achieved is done by Government. However, we, the youths, are taking everything for granted. We are not caring about the future, not doing our part in making the world a better place. Is it because everyone believes that the world is really ending as shown in the movie 2012?

Posted by Seet Ann Gie, School of Film & Media Studies, Ngee Ann Polytechnic

“We need to find ways to work with nature,” said Mr Liat Teng Lit, Chief Executive Officer, Alexandra Hospital and Chairman, Water Network. We all know that all living things need water to survive, but what Mr Liat saw in the relationship between water and the ecosystem really created a whole new picture for me.

Mr Liat stressed it is vital to find ways to work with nature to conserve water. Far-fetched as it might seem, he suggested to have otters living in the waters of Marina Barrage. This will instill a sense of responsibility in Singaporeans, helping us to keep our waters unpolluted so that the otters can survive

“Just by setting a simple goal of keeping an animal alive, we can get everything right,” said Mr Liat. Clean water for the otters also means clean water for us. If each of us contributes to creating a suitable environment for other living things to thrive in, we would definitely be playing apart in building a healthy living environment for ourselves.

By Gillian Shen, School of Film & Media Studies, Ngee Ann Polytechnic

After speaking to some of the people there, I learnt that structures such as the Marina Barrage can be beneficial not only for the nation’s long-term water goals, but also to the sports community.

For example, a sailing instructor told me that the blocking of the sea currents by the barrage and incoming wind by the main structure makes the new reservoir an ideal location for sailing lessons.

Catching the wind: the Marina Barrage even aids flying kites

A kite-flyer said that the wind is channeled upwards through the huge slope, allowing the kites to raise faster and higher. An elevated area also means zero obstructions, such as trees.

From this experience, I was convinced that water structures such as the Marina Barrage do serve multiple purposes meaningfully.

By Ryan Lee, School of Film & Media Studies, Ngee Ann Polytechnic

I learnt how the Marina Barrage worked as a water supply and flood control area in Singapore. This is particularly important to Singapore’s water conservation and management. I learnt that being situated in the city, Marina Barrage is connected to canals and rivers in the city areas and help prevent flooding in low-lying areas in the city.

This is important if we want to manage water issues like flooding in the city areas, especially in heavy rain seasons. Recently, the heavy rainfall had been causing floods in the central areas of Singapore, like Chinatown and Marina areas. There has been much concern over the intense storms in Singapore between June and July this year.

The PUB is making the review the design and capacity of a major canal, the Stamford Canal a top priority even though flood-prone areas have been reduced from 3200 ha in the 1970s to 66 ha.

By Charlotte Lai Hong Lan, School of Film & Media Studies, Ngee Ann Polytechnic

From SIWF, in the Principal’s Message, nearly 3,000 students will be participating in this event. As my news angle is related to youth, I was overjoyed as I know I would have plenty of options in regard to interviewees for my field assignment in News Writing class.
Also, from the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources, Dr Yaacob Ibrahim’s welcome message, it is quoted that despite the fact that there is enough freshwater in the world, its uneven distribution and poor water management have resulted in water scarcity being prevalent in many areas around the world.

Being the 3rd SIWW, this event has a certain standard to live up to. I would say it achieved its target in attracting youths to go for the event at Marina Barrage. Also, I feel that it has successfully linked those activities they held there to the whole point of the event, which is water conservation.

By Abdul Samad Muhammad Redzuan, School of Film & Media Studies, Ngee Ann Polytechnic