Contents Discover Lower Seletar Reservoir 1 Introduction 2 Our Water Story 2 Reservoirs in Singapore 3 Navigate Lower Seletar Reservoir 4 ABC Waters Programme 5 A Walk Down History 7 The Water Cycle and Journey of Water from Lower Seletar Reservoir 9 Water Quality Testing 10 Keeping Lower Seletar Reservoir Active, Beautiful and Clean 12 ABC Waters Design Features 14 Animals at Lower Seletar Reservoir 17 Your Reflections 18 Extended Activity - Line Debating 19 NEWater Visitor Centre 20 Marina Barrage 20 Copyright © PUB, Singapore’s national water agency 2013. Revised 2017. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without prior written permission from the publishers. For more information, please visit us at www.pub.gov.sg/getinvolved. Discover Lower Seletar Reservoir Come to Lower Seletar Reservoir and learn more about the Singapore Water Story. Discover how our small city-state, which used to face challenges such as droughts and pollution, has transformed into a global hydrohub and vibrant City of Gardens and Water. Water sustainability is crucial to Singapore’s success. Singapore has ensured a robust and sustainable supply of water capable of catering to the country’s continued growth through the Four National Taps. The four taps or sources of water are water from local catchment, imported water, NEWater and desalinated water. One of PUB’s long-term initiatives is the Active, Beautiful, Clean Waters (ABC Waters) Programme, which will see the transformation of our network of drains, canals and reservoirs into beautiful and clean streams, rivers and lakes that are well integrated with surrounding parks and green space, bringing people closer to nature. ABC Waters at Lower Seletar Reservoir was opened in June 2010. It now boasts a Family and Rowers’ Bay, creating a new focal point for residents in the area. At Family Bay, the public can enjoy performances at the multi-purpose stage and have fun playing at the water play area. Rowers’ Bay, on the other hand, leverages on the open 2 km long channel of water, to provide a venue for competitive rowing events. Inspired by the reservoir’s rich history of kelongs, jetties and fishing boats, a heritage deck spanning the reservoir offers scenic views of the water and nature reserve. We hope to make Lower Seletar Reservoir a meaningful place for outdoor learning. As you learn about our waters and the diversity of life it supports, we hope you will cherish and take care of our precious water resource. PUB, the national water agency 1 Introduction Water from local catchment is a pillar of Singapore’s water sustainability strategy, along with imported water, NEWater and desalinated water. Today, we will explore Lower Seletar Reservoir to discover the following themes: ABC Waters Water Sustainability Learning Trail Lower Seletar and the at Lower Reservoir - Four National Seletar Past and Taps Reservoir Present Concept of ABC Waters Water Quality Programme and and ABC Waters Biodiversity Design Features Our W a te r S to ry By investing in water technology and adopting an integrated approach to water management over the last 50 years, Singapore has developed a diversified and sustainable water supply system known as the Four National Taps. Local Catchment Water Rainwater is collected through a comprehensive network of drains, canals, Imported Water rivers and stormwater collection ponds Singapore imports water from Johor, and reservoirs before it is treated for Malaysia.The 1962 water agreement our drinking water supply. Used will expire in 2061. water is collected through a separate system. Our Four National Taps Desalinated Water NEWater Singapore has one of Asia’s largest NEWater is high-grade reclaimed water. seawater reverse osmosis desalination Used water is treated, then further purified plants, producing 30 million gallons of water using advanced membrane technologies, a day. Singapore’s second desalination, making the water ultra-clean Tuaspring has officially opened in September and safe to drink. 2013, can produce 70 million gallons of water a day. 2 Reservoirs in Singapore There are currently 17 reservoirs, 32 major rivers and more than 7,000 km of canals and drains. Lower Seletar Reservoir was formed by building a dam across Sungei Seletar. Rainwater that falls in parts of Yishun and Ang Mo Kio towns is channelled to the Lower Seletar Reservoir through the network of drains and canals. Upper Seletar Lower Seletar Kranji Punggol Pulau Tekong Sarimbun Serangoon Murai Poyan Tengeh Upper Lower Peirce Peirce Jurong MacRitchie Lake Pandan Bedok Marina 1. Which of the Four National Taps does Lower Seletar Reservoir belong to? 2. How much of the total land area in Singapore forms our water catchment today? 3. Name the reservoir that is closest to your school. What are some of the activities your school does to help take care of our waters at this location? 3 Navigate Lower Seletar Reservoir Look at the map and study what surrounds Lower Seletar Reservoir, and where the checkpoints of this trail are. PA WATER VENTURE 5i 5ii YISHUN STADIUM N Heritage Deck - Heritage Panels Heritage Deck - Viewing Gallery Fishing Jetty Litter Trap 5i Rain Garden 5ii Bioretention Swales 4 ABC W a te rs Pro g ra m m e GREEN (ecology) The ABC Waters Programme aims to integrate Singapore’s parks (green), reservoirs and waterways (blue) and the community (orange). The use of ABC Waters design features such as rain gardens and bioretention swales, help to keep our waters clean. These features are sustainable natural systems which detain and treat rainwater on urban site before allowing the water to flow naturally into the environment reservoirs. The features also form ecological habitats that benefit from the proximity to water sources. New community spaces are created allowing people to get closer to water. BLUE ORANGE (hydrology) (community) How has the ABC Waters Programme by PUB benefited students and the community in this area? Design a Postcard Design a picturesque postcard for your blog or a friend overseas. With your camera, capture as many scenes as possible that will depict any aspect of the ABC Waters features at Lower Seletar Reservoir with yourself or with friends in the postcard. At the back of your postcard, write a brief description of the beauty of the place and what you would like to share about this place. Here is a sample: Hi Adam, I went to Lower Seletar Reservoir over the weekend. It is such a 11, Katong Avenue wonderful place to relax and enjoy Singapore 438007 activities by, on and in the water! Sincerely, Rick 5 Be Inspired By Nature Brainstorm words that illustrate the concepts of “Active”, Beautiful” and “Clean”. ACTIVE BEAUTIFUL CLEAN e.g. kayaking scenic unpolluted More Activities Write a poem entitled ‘An Ode To Lower Seletar’ after the programme. Highlight the beauty of Lower Seletar Reservoir, your feelings and thoughts. What activity in the past does the Heritage Deck’s structure remind you of? Why is this built to resemble the past activity at Lower Seletar Reservoir? 6 Find out about the history of Lower Seletar Reservoir from the panels on the Heritage Deck and complete the speech bubble in the comic strip. A Blast to the Past 1920 To support Singapore’s increasing population and industralisation, a third It is reservoir following MacRitchie and which means Peirce Reservoirs had to be built to meet growing water needs. This became known as Seletar Reservoir. 1969 As a result of expansion in 1940 and 1967 respectively, Seletar Reservoir’s capacity was greatly increased and became Singapore’s largest reservoir then. It was also a popular leisure spot. 1986 To further ensure it could hold sufficient water, a dam was constructed across r ou know some of the earlie the mouth of Seletar River to collect Do y rainwater from the upstream areas. names for Seletar? This became known as Sungei Seletar Reservoir. 1992 Seletar Reservoir was renamed Upper Row ro w row your boats gently down Seletar Reservoir, while Sungei Seletar Seletar Ri Reservoir was renamed Lower Seletar ver. We trade for Reservoir. 2004 To recognise water as a shared resource, the reservoirs, including Lower Seletar Reservoir, were opened for water activities. 2006 The Active, Beautiful, Clean Waters (ABC Waters) Programme was launched with the aim of turning Singapore into a city of Gardens and Waters. 2010: The makeover of Lower Seletar Reservoir under the ABC Waters Programme has been completed. y Hi! I am Tan Ah Beng. This is m you plantation. What crop do think I grow? Singapore must be self-reliant. We need to find our own way to survive and prosper, turning challenges into opportunities. With no natural aquifers or lakes and little land to collect rainwater, we create reservoirs by damming our major rivers. 7 Past and Present The heritage panels describe the activities, transportation and environment of Seletar in the past. What is similar and different today? What are the similarities? Optional: Take photos to show the What are the differences? changed environment today. PAST PRESENT Physical Environment Activities Transportation Why do you think changes have taken place? Discuss with your group. 8 The Water Cycle and Journey of Water from Lower Seletar Reservoir We cannot live without water. The water cycle is critical because it ensures the availability of water for living things and the maintenance of ecosystems. Although over 70% of the Earth is covered with water, only 2.5% of this water is freshwater. The continuous flow of freshwater that we use is a result of the water cycle also known as the hydrological cycle.