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For a country that brought to the world the technology to recycle sewage into high-grade reclaimed potable water, the Republic is now making strides in another world-first: Variable salinity technology, which would turn almost the entire island into a water catchment area, as national water agency PUB strives to make use of every drop of rainwater. TODAY has learnt that following a successful pilot, PUB plans to ramp up the technology, having recently identified eight potential sites across the island, including one at Jurong, at which to build new plants. PUB had revealed that it was looking at using more of the technology - without giving details - in a letter to this newspaper last month, in a response to a reader's suggestion to harness water in the streams and rivulets near the shoreline. Currently, two-thirds of Singapore's land surface is a water catchment area. But, according to PUB, a considerable amount of rainwater still goes to waste at smaller rivulets situated at the island's outskirts. With the new technology - which has the dual function of generating potable water from brackish water and sea water - about 90 per cent of the island will become a water catchment area. During wet spells or periods of heavy rainfall, an inflatable rubber weir built into a canal retains rainwater that is otherwise drained into the sea. The water from the canal is transferred to a variable salinity plant. During the purification process, the water is filtered to remove particles of less than 100 micrometres in size. The water is then desalted when it is run through reverse osmosis membranes. During dry spells, however, the variable salinity plant switches to "seawater" mode, and seawater is pumped into the plant from a pipe spanning 190m offshore. The seawater stream is passed through seawater reverse osmosis membranes and then through the brackish water reverse osmosis membranes to obtain salt-free water. PUB spokesperson Sarah Hiong told TODAY: "The variable salinity plant is the first of its kind in the world, and is designed to produce drinking water from seawater and brackish water at an affordable cost." With some parts of the island seeing only minimal rain for up to four-fifths of the year, it would not have been cost effective to build conventional systems for small catchments such as streams and rivulets near the shorelines. The PUB launched a prototype variable salinity plant at the Bedok NEWater facility in 2004. Bouyed by its success, a S$7.4-million demonstration-scale plant was constructed in 2007 at Sungei Tampines. And for the past five years, the plant has been working around the clock, processing up to 2 million gallons (9.1 million litres) of brackish rainwater per day - or about 0.5 per cent of Singapore's daily water consumption, which stands at 380 million gallons. Like NEWater, the water processed by this latest technology is safe for drinking, meeting or surpassing drinking water quality guidelines and standards by the World Health Organization and the United States Environmental Protection Agency. But as the yield is small, all product water is currently used to augment the supply of NEWater used to meet industrial needs. Ms Hiong noted that 55 per cent of Singapore's total water demand comes from the industrial sector. "NEWater is primarily supplied to industries, and (the new technology) frees up potable water from catchment areas for household consumption," she said. Four of the potential sites identified for new variable salinity plants are in the eastern part of the island, and two each in the western and north-western parts. One of the sites -to be situated in Jurong - will ultimately be capable of processing 1.3 million gallons of seawater or 2.6 million gallons of brackish water per day. As the new technology make inroads here, members of the public have more reasons not to litter. "Rubbish thrown on the ground can be washed into drains when it rains, and end up in a canal, which is collecting rainwater for our water supply," Ms Hiong pointed out. Source: http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/sin...1205397/1/.html

Every 24 seconds, someone has something to say about buses, trains, cars or taxis. Last year, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) received more than 1.36 million responses as part of feedback over the phone or in writing. This is about double the number in 2007, a spokesman told The Straits Times. The surge is a positive trend, said Mr Cedric Foo, MP for Pioneer SMC and chairman of the Government Parliamentary Committee for Transport. 'As our society matures, the 'bo chap' attitude is gradually giving way to 'I can make a difference with my feedback'. This should definitely be encouraged,' he added. Political observer and former Nominated MP Zulkifli Baharudin said all feedback received, including complaints, should be viewed in a positive light. Source: http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/S...ory_804898.html

an extract from the WP rally: http://wp.sg/2012/05/rally-1-jennjong/ it's really disgusting if true... earlier, the figure was 36m spent each year, which already caused a hoo-ha hope MOE can come clean and tell the citizens exactly how much is spent on foreign scholarships almost 150m per year is ridiculous... at least to me

to all bros/sis of mcf, after the tragedy of the ferrari incident where 2 innocent lives were lost due to a madman, we have to be alert/careful and practise safe driving/riding as every road user out there is sumones father/mother, son/daughter,brother/sister. to all roadhoggers n blurkings n drunk drivers, your recklessness could end up hurting innocent families and know tat sum1 like you could end up hurting ur loved ones too, so be safe n practise safe driving/riding on our roads. watching the videos of the accident, i still feel down till today as 2 innocent lives were lost jus like tat and it could hv been me n my family. my elder bro got retrenched last yr n wif age unable 2 secure a same pay scale job n became a deliveryman who leaves the house at 3am everymorning 2 report 4 work and he tells me of how drivers treat expressways n roads like a F1 track, wif the ah beng racers and supercharged car racers on our roads, i do hope TP n LTA do wake up and take action, cherish our time wif our family

I've heard many will sell their rides every 3 years, because they can siam the high maintenance after the 3rd year. How much will you actually lose if you change car every 3 years?

Sianz... Gena snap on the expressway exceeding 21-30km/hr on the 80km/hr stretch at Ayer Rajah expressway.. 20km mark.. Anyone knows where is it? Dunno why can't they just make the whole speed limit the same at 90km/hr... Argh....

Ever wonder why when someone posted something in a thread...it will somehow become political? Maybe it's because we read too much Yahoo! news that we cannot map the relation to the topics we posted But on a serious note, anyone noticed that Yahoo! news tend to be abit extreme at the other side of the coin? I find the Yahoo! news crew trend to be may a bit on anti-asian undertones...They're news usually put asian countries (including Singapore at time) in bad light.

Some 30 to 40 Singaporeans die in fatal accidents in Malaysia every year, because they speed on the highways, are unfamiliar with roads there, or are not used to driving long distances. Another 50 to 70 are injured in these accidents, over half of which take place in the state of Johor, just across the Causeway, and many of them on highways. Road experts say many Singaporeans tend to 'let loose' on Malaysian roads, in the mistaken impression that there is no speed limit on the highways - or that the chances of getting caught are very low. Fatal accidents in Malaysia involving Singaporeans March 2011: Community leader and businessman Mohamed Abdul Jaleel Shaik Mohamed, 53, crashed while driving in Johor. His elderly mother died while he and five other relatives in his car were injured. September 2010: Two men, one a Singaporean, the other a Singaporean PR, died in a pile-up on the North-South Expressway. The first crash killed the driver of a Subaru and injured his three passengers. Another car, a Honda, crashed while trying to avoid the Subaru. August 2010: A polytechnic student was flung out of her boyfriend's car after he lost control and crashed into railings in Kluang, Johor. The 19-year-old died 16 hours later in a Johor Baru hospital. July 2010: A 62-year-old retiree returning with his wife and friends from a holiday in Penang died when the van he was in was involved in a three-vehicle collision in Perak. June 2010: A young couple on their way back to Singapore from Genting Highlands crashed their car into the central divider along the North-South Expressway in Johor. The 21-year-old man, who was the passenger, died while his girlfriend suffered head injuries and had one of her toes amputated. June 2010: A retired teacher driving with his family to attend a wedding in Terengganu crashed his car into a road barrier and spun out of control. Their Mitsubishi was then hit by an oncoming car. The crash killed him, his wife and their 12-year-old granddaughter, as well as their Indonesian maid. The overall speed limit on the North-South Expressway, which runs the length of Peninsular Malaysia, is 110kmh, with the limit on certain dangerous stretches dropping to 80kmh or 90kmh. Source: http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/S...ory_726940.html

every weekend wich to me start friday evening, me and spouse will try find a nice place to eat dinner. so friday , sat, sun dinner try to eat at nice restaurant. every weekend spend around $200 for 2 pax. do u guys tink tis too much? i think if i target zi char place, my expense will go down. but if i open to eating jap food(which is one of our fav), or italian then expense will be high. can u guys also share approx how much u spend every weekend on nice food? and where u guys normally go. cos i kinda give up hope to buy a nice property or big car, so after a hard week of work might as well enjoy a bit and eat good food. i am sure not everyone agree with me on tis.

Hi.., anyone know which dealer bring new suzuki every? the car is soo cute :)

after 25 months and 100k, my coilover has leaked but is BaCk again. That assuring and minimum roll when cornering never fails to put a smile on me. plus same savings too as i need only change the dampers ....

Last year, 85 cars were stolen in Singapore - or one car every four days on average. These cars are often left unlocked or with their keys in the ignition, making them easy targets. Older vehicles are especially susceptible because their worn-out locks make them easier to break into. RELATED LINKS ONE CAR STOLEN HERE EVERY FOUR DAYS Last month, a car at a multi-storey carpark in McNair Road in the Boon Keng area was stolen. The owner had parked his Toyota Vios on the third storey at 8am and returned that same night to find it missing. Source: http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/S...ory_706182.html

received sms fm shell that vpower at 98 price, every fri, sat, sun 7pm-11pm till 25th sept 2011 happy and safe motoring everyone

Are these reconditioned vehicles? (ie. Scraped vans from Japan) I don't recall seeing such vehicles registered here in 2004 http://www.sgcarmart.com/main/info-0QwlMyNl-1126.html http://www.sgcarmart.com/main/listing.php?...&sb.x=28&sb.y=8

http://www.suzuki.co.jp/dom4/lineup/every_w/ pimp my ride!! I love this vehicle... I've seen some around Singapore, and it is a very cosmetically moddable vehicle. I believe those who love insane ICE and chrome rims would do very well with this vehicle. Have you spotted one recently? who brings them in?

Did I heard Wrongly?.... mbt said hdb lose money leh.... I really really don't know what to say....

Just a simple poll to see what time you guys leave the house (for work/for school/ferry kids to school) each morning? Do be truthful and accurate.

http://motoring.asiaone.com/Motoring/News/...310-267447.html

lets have a bit of lite topic after few days of the heavy quake news in Japan Who will spend $10 for a notepad with a eye catching title

From Auto Express at the Geneva Motor Show, the new Skoda Concept D with new exterior look, badge and re-imagined interior with a mix of earth materials and other nifty features. With a new car every six months from 2012 to 2015, we will be expecting some new things from Skoda. In other news sites, it also sighted that Skoda will be reviewing new SUV line ups with a bigger "crossover-type" and also a smaller Yeti. The new badge looks like they are inline with some of these new changes in the new models and new products from Skoda's stable. Just nice for me to change/upgrade to a new Skoda next year. :) New Skoda Concept D You're in - Motor Shows: Geneva Motor Show Skoda shows Vision D design concept Five-door Vision D concept reveals future design direction for Skoda and offers glimpse of new family car. By Tom PhillipsFebruary 2011 Skoda is readying a bold new look for the Octavia. After top brass toasted best-ever sales of 750,000-plus cars in 2010, they have signalled an all-new design direction at the Geneva show in a hatch that paves the way for the next family model, and the look of all future Skodas to come. The striking white five-door Vision D concept features an enlarged front grille flanked by smaller, simpler headlights than we

An episode in Every Singaporean Son..those were the days when blur like sotong...

new chinese new year to all mcs swift club member.....

Can comment on this vehicle? http://www.sgcarmart.com/used_cars/info.php?ID=135211&DL=2129 Really cheap and its a 2008 vehicle!?!?!

I need a smoke but that will kill me anybody know if there is such thing as smoker anonymous