When you think of the U.S. state of Colorado, you probably picture rocky snow-capped mountains, cattle ranches, and old Western movies as opposed to a bustling, tropical city-state like Singapore.
But the landlocked U.S. state and our island nation are both facing critical water shortages in their futures, according to a recent report from ABC affiliate, Denver 7 News.
Scientists from the state’s capital of Denver are taking inspiration from PUB Singapore, our national water agency, which is swimming in good ideas when it comes to filtering and treating reclaimed water.
They call their product NEWater, and it’s exactly what it sounds like — high-grade, ultra-clean, reclaimed water, and it is considered a game-changer in the fight against water shortages all over the world.
“With the drought and climate change that we are facing right now in Colorado, and across the west, it’s really important that we take care of our water resources,” water reuse technologist Austa Parker told Denver 7 News.
She says that a treatment system similar to PUB Singapore uses to make NEWater could work back home. Scientists hope that adopting the process could help them avert a looming crisis by conserving and storing the water they already have, rather than shipping it in using tanks and other costly measures.
In the coming decades, the demand for potable water will become more urgent for Colorado.
“The most recent state water plan is expecting the population and the water gap to double by 2050,” said Parker. “Meaning that we’re going to need more water supplies than we currently have.”
Cheers to Colorado learning a thing or two from Singapore’s example of innovation and conservation of drinking water.
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