COMPROMISING SINGAPORE'S GROWING POPULATION - A FEASIBILITY STUDY OF UNDERGROUND WATER STORAGE

Abstract

The surge in population and the subsequent increasing demand for water supply have been evidently impending in Singapore. In the past decades, efforts in land reclamation and the securing of the four National Taps have successfully helped Singapore deal with issues pertaining to the lack of natural resources. As Singapore adopts a forward-looking approach in nation and land-use planning, it is of utmost importance for the nation to plan for the future generations. One key aspect of such planning is to include the planning for alternative sources of land and water to ensure survival. As such, the aim of the study is to conduct a feasibility analysis of the proposed framework, which involves the development of underground water storage. This proposed framework aims to be a potential solution to free up precious land spaces for other developments in order to facilitate the greater urbanization of Singapore. With reference to overseas’ concepts, this proposed framework seeks to integrate such concepts into Singapore’s built environment, specifically with regards to the exploitation of the underside of roads to create storage space and achieve water storage through such porous roads. The research methodology of this study will be established based on literature review, descriptive and exploratory case studies and interviews. For the interview on the feasibility study of the proposed framework, the questionnaires to be administered will be formulated from both the literature review and the case studies conducted. The results that are obtained from these interviews, specifically with Public Utilities Board (PUB) and Langdon and Seah Singapore, serve as an integral part of the feasibility study of the proposed framework and will be analyzed to draw a conclusion to determine if there are ample opportunities for the development of the 5th National Tap. This, in turn, will enhance and strengthen the viability of the proposed framework. Last but not least, alluded to the responses, recommendations will be advocated to assist and improvise the proposed framework in order to achieve the live-work-play vision in the long run.