Mar 20, 2010 - The Straits Times
S'pore a 'City of Waterways'
By
Sumita Sreedharan
IT LOOKS like Singapore the Garden City is on target to become a City
of Waterways too.
With World Water Day falling on Sunday, PUB, the national
water agency, is confident that its masterplan targets will be met.
The banks of the country's 32 rivers and 7,000km of canals
and drains are being transformed, as are its 15 reservoirs which will
teem with water activities. A key element of PUB's Active, Beautiful,
Clean Waters (ABC Waters) programme is the people factor: projects will
involve residents so that they have ownership too.
The masterplan identified more than 100 locations where
projects will be implemented in phases till 2030. The PUB first
identifies a waterway or reservoir for transformation by looking at such
factors as demographics, surrounding facilities and upcoming
developments. It then sees how the ABC Waters project can complement the
surroundings and add value to the area.
Grassroots groups, schools and residents are involved:
Feedback, ideas and views are gathered from them. After all, they will
participate in and organise activities around the completed projects.
Mr Yew Kai Lih, 54, senior constituency manager in the Kolam
Ayer constituency office, says: 'Our waterway is now our trademark.'