S'pore to be self-sufficient with water

S'pore to be self-sufficient with water

SINGAPORE: Singapore said on Tuesday it will be able to let one of two water agreements with Malaysia lapse in 2011, serving notice the city-state is increasingly becoming self-sufficient for its water needs.

Foreign Minister S. Jayakumar said it was within Singapore's capability to produce enough water to replace the volumes lost if a 1961 agreement is not renewed after it expires in nine years.

After a second agreement signed in 1962 expires in 2061, Singapore will continue to buy water from Malaysia only if the price is competitive with the cost of locally treated water, he told parliament.

Resource-starved Singapore is reliant on Malaysia for half of its daily water needs, and is resorting to technology to turn waste water into something consumable to cut this dependence. --AFP