# NEWater launched (2003)

URL: https://allhistories.com/singapore/timeline/2003-newater-launched
Location: Bedok, Singapore
Themes: main-event

The national water agency PUB launched NEWater to the public in 2003, opening plants at Bedok and Kranji together with a NEWater Visitor Centre. NEWater is treated used water that passes through three stages: microfiltration or ultrafiltration to remove solids and bacteria, reverse osmosis to filter out remaining contaminants, and ultraviolet disinfection, with alkaline chemicals restoring the pH balance. The programme answered Singapore's chronic water vulnerability. As a small island with limited catchment, it had long depended on imports from Johor under agreements dating from 1961 and 1962. Reclaiming used water offered a supply that rain and neighbours could not interrupt, and it formed one of the national taps through which the government sought water self-sufficiency. The plants now have a combined capacity of about 760,000 cubic metres a day. About 6 percent goes to indirect potable use, roughly 1 percent of Singapore's potable water requirement, while most of the rest serves industry, especially wafer fabrication. Government figures say NEWater can meet up to 40 percent of current needs, rising to 55 percent by 2060. At this point in the timeline (2003), S. R. Nathan, President (1999 – 2011), was head of state of the Republic of Singapore, independent since 9 August 1965; Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong (28 November 1990 – 12 August 2004) led the government.

## Why it matters
NEWater reduced dependence on imported water and became a global reference for water reuse and a pillar of Singapore's resilience planning.

Ruler at the Time: [S. R. Nathan](https://allhistories.com/singapore/rulers/s-r-nathan)

## Sources
- [Wikipedia — NEWater](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NEWater)
- [Encyclopaedia Britannica — Singapore since 1990](https://www.britannica.com/place/Singapore/Singapore-since-1990)