Good evening and thank you so much for following my blog posts for the past 12 weeks. Water pollution is indeed an important issue and I would like to use this final post to summarise whatever I covered.

For the first half of the semester, I managed to explore the different types of water pollution, with highlights such as water-borne pathogens, heavy metals and micro-plastics. After which, I explored a case study, that of the Minamata disease, which highlighted the harmful effects of methyl-mercury. Thereafter, we explored COVID-19 and its effects on water quality and pollution. We finally ended off the whole “dive” at home, by exploring how Singapore managed its water resources.

However, I would like to emphasise that despite this blog coming to an end, our efforts to prevent water pollution should never cease. Let’s do our best to preserve water quality, not only for humans, but other living things on the planet as well.

“Singapore is a country with limited water resources, and it is essential for its water quality to be carefully regulated” (NEA, n.d.). In Singapore, the statutory board in charge of water quality and regulation of water pollution is the National Environment Agency, abbreviated as NEA. The water that belongs to the sewage systems, as well as inland water bodies such as reservoirs and also coastal areas surrounding Singapore, are all managed by NEA (NEA, n.d.).

In Singapore, the main sources of water pollution include industrial effluent and domestic wastewater (NEA, n.d.). Industrial effluent contains chemical and organic pollutants, while domestic wastewater contains mainly organic pollutants, including both suspended and dissolved solids (NEA, n.d.). To keep Singapore’s water clean, soil pollution is also taken into account, as pollutants in the soil can enter the water system as run-off or groundwater (NEA, n.d.). For example, only approved pesticides can be used to control termite populations (NEA, n.d.).

Singapore’s wastewater, whether industrial or domestic, are directed into sewage systems for treatment. “Singapore’s public sewerage system serves all industrial estates and almost all residences” (NEA, n.d.). The Public Utilities Board, otherwise abbreviated as the PUB, regulates the sewage system, as well as the treatment and discharge of industrial wastewater into public sewers (NEA, n.d.). It is mandatory in Singapore to discharge all wastewater into the public sewage system (NEA, n.d.). If this is not possible, according to NEA (n.d.), the industrial wastewater must be treated to specific standards before being discharged into a sewer or watercourse. There are also measures in place, such as pH-monitors and shut-off control systems, to regulate and control pollution from industries that generate large amounts of acidic effluents (NEA, n.d.).

As for both inland water bodies and coastal waters, the water quality is also regularly monitored. The monitored parameters include pH, dissolved oxygen, suspended solids, ammonia, sulphide, metals, bacteria and carbon (NEA, n.d.). Of course, this list is not exhaustive and other physical and chemical properties/parameters are also monitored to measure water pollution (NEA, n.d.).

Overall, Singapore has put in place technology to monitor water quality and also regulate water pollution. In a country with limited water resources, it is essential that we ensure minimal water pollution!

References:

NEA. (n.d.). Water Quality. National Environment Agency. https://www.nea.gov.sg/our-services/pollution-control/water-quality/keeping-our-water-clean

NEA. (n.d.). What are the sources of water pollution in Singapore? National Environment Agency. https://va.ecitizen.gov.sg/CFP/CustomerPages/NEA_google/displayresult.aspx?MesId=1069761

In my previous blog post, I highlighted how COVID-19 might be a panacea to water pollution. This comes with the decline of tourism activities, as seen in the case of beaches and coastal areas in Ecuador. Other than that, my blog post also covered how the hiatus of industrial activities helped to alleviate water pollution in the Damodar River in India. However, despite these examples of how COVID-19 has helped with water quality and pollution issues, we have to look at the whole matter from another perspective. In other words, we have to also analyse how COVID-19 contributed to and worsened water pollution.

First and foremost, COVID-19 has actually worsened contamination of water bodies, by increasing use of microscopic substances. This comes with an increase in the usage of micro-plastics and other chemical/healthcare products such as pharmaceuticals and disinfectants. As reiterated in Manoiu et al. (2022), the negative impacts [of COVID-19] on water bodies include contamination of the said water bodies with micro-plastics, pharmaceuticals and disinfectants. This is also coupled with contamination of the virus itself, which might have leaked from hospitals and sewage treatment plants (Manoiu et al., 2022). These microscopic substances may cause significant impacts on the environment or even human health.

Other than these chemicals which are mostly microscopic in nature, there are also many other “larger” products used during the pandemic that exacerbated water pollution. According to Manoiu et al. (2022), the disposal of sanitary consumables, such as masks, gloves, wipes,  protective suits and safety shoes, which were used for personal protection and medical purposes, causes significant harm on animals. Animals can accidentally swallow the masks or get tangled in their elastic cords (Manoiu et al., 2022). In Bangladesh, 50% of online survey respondents declared that they have dumped their used tissues, masks, gloves and household waste into water bodies (Islam et al., 2021, as cited in Manoiu et al., 2022). In China and Iran, the disposal of contaminated wipes, masks and gloves also pollute the water bodies (Poursadeqiyan & Bazrafshan, 2020, as cited in Manoiu et. al., 2022). Hence, in addition to chemicals at the microscopic level, increase in usage of consumables at the macroscopic level, due to COVID-19, can also cause detrimental effects on water systems.

In conclusion, I argue that COVID-19 should not be seen as a panacea to water pollution issues. The positive effects of COVID-19 on water pollution are temporary and is nothing but an illusion. If humans take no initiative, then even if there was a temporary “solution” to the issue, it is nothing but a placebo.

References:

Manoiu, V.-M., Kubiak-Wójcicka, K., Craciun, A.-I., Akman, Ç., & Akman, E. (2022). Water quality and water pollution in time of covid-19: Positive and negative repercussions. Water, 14(7), 1124. https://doi.org/10.3390/w14071124