Palm | Kelapa Sawit

Alice Chia Channel NewsAsia 27 Dec 12;

SINGAPORE: Stiffer penalties on improper discharge of used water from industries, trade and businesses, will come into effect sometime next year.

This follows changes to the Sewerage and Drainage Act in September, aimed at minimising the risk of used water pollution.

Under the new regulations, offenders could be fined up to $15,000, up from the current $5,000, and jailed up to three months, for the illegal discharge of used industrial water.

Such discharge may contain hazardous chemicals, which will in turn affect water reclamation and NEWater production.

National water agency PUB said since November, it has installed a system costing S$2.5 million to monitor the amount of chemicals in the sewers.

The system comprises 40 real-time remote monitoring units installed at industrial sites.

When it detects illegal discharge, an alert is sent to the PUB.

Since the system was deployed, the PUB has received 20 alerts.

In 18 of these cases, the PUB has been able to identify the culprits that had discharged the chemicals into the public sewers. Investigations are still on-going for the remaining two cases.

Mr Idaly Mamat, Senior Engineer at PUB, said: "In the past, we did not have a continuous monitoring system. We did - and still do - regular surveillance, regular monitoring and inspection of premises that discharge trade effluent.

"Since implementing this system, we are able to track the concentration of VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds) immediately. We are able to react faster to any sudden discharges of VOCs in the network."

To further secure the used water network, the PUB has also installed about 1,000 sensors in manholes to monitor water levels in the sewers. Each sensor costs S$3,000.

The sensors were deployed in March.

When the water rises beyond the normal level, SMS and email alerts will be sent to the PUB.

They can then investigate and rectify the problem.

This helps to prevent overflow from the sewers, which may pollute waterways and reservoirs.

Mr Idaly Mamat added: "In the past, we only found out about these cases through public feedback. Usually we see that there was water overflowing from the sewers or the manhole. We could only then rectify the situation. Now with these level sensor system, we are able to detect any surcharges before it overflows from the sewers."

Since the sensors were installed, the PUB has received about 10 alerts per day, most related to blockages in the sewers.

- CNA/de

Tougher penalties for dumping of waste water: PUB
Woo Sian Boon Today Online 28 Dec 12;

SINGAPORE - Fines for the dumping of waste water containing chemicals into public sewers will be tripled to S$15,000, while offenders could also be jailed for up to three months.

These are the tougher penalties national water agency PUB will introduce, as 11 factories were caught illegally dumping waste water containing high levels of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) into the sewerage system. Seven offenders were brought to court, while the remaining four had their offences compounded with a fine.

The number of offenders caught this year has surpassed the total number of illegal dumping cases in the last two years. There were seven cases last year, up from two in 2010.

VOCs such as paints, methane chloride are commonly present in waste discharges, known as trade effluent, from electroplating, pharmaceutical, printing and food businesses, trades and industries.

Mr Idaly Mamat, Senior Engineer of PUB's Water Reclamation (Network) Department, said: "As some VOCs are toxic and flammable, the discharge of trade effluent containing high concentration of such VOCs into the public sewer poses fire and safety hazards to workers or operators working in the public sewerage system.

"It can also affect the treatment process at water reclamation plants, and subsequently, impact the production of NEWater or industrial water."

Waste water containing levels of these compounds should be collected by licensed toxic industrial waste collectors for off-site treatment and disposal.

The PUB will be amending the Sewerage and Drainage (Trade Effluent Regulations) to effect the stricter penalties. The amendment will kick in by next year.

To further monitor the quality of waste water, the PUB installed 40 VOC sensors last month in industrial sites such as Tuas, Pioneer Sector and Woodlands to monitor the concentration levels of chemicals discharged into the sewerage system.

An SMS alert will be sent to PUB if any illegal discharge is detected, and officers will be deployed on site to trace the discharge.

The sensors also enable PUB to closely monitor 1,783 factories identified as "concerns", out of 4,800 listed in its records,

Since the deployment of the sensors, 20 more cases of waste water with high VOC levels discharged into the public sewerage system were detected, with 18 offenders identified by the PUB. Investigations are ongoing to identify the rest of the culprits.

To further ensure public sewers are free from obstruction - which might lead to overflows and the subsequent pollution of waterways and reservoirs - the PUB has progressively installed some 1,000 sensors since 2010 in manholes island-wide to monitor used water levels.

"Before we had these water-level sensors, we had to depend on public feedback to notify us on water overflowing from manholes into the surroundings," said Mr Idaly.

"With the sensors, we are able to detect this before it happens, so we can stop a blockage before the water overflows into our canals and waterways. This prevents water pollution and prevents public nuisance as well."

Fines for illegal waste water discharge into sewage to be raised
Woo Sian Boon Today Online 27 Dec 12;

SINGAPORE - National water agency PUB said there were 11 cases of factories discharging large amounts of waste water containing high concentration of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) into the sewage system this year. Of the 11 cases, seven were brought to court while four had their offences compounded with a fine.

To prevent the contamination of the waters here, the PUB uses a series of water level sensors and VOC sensors to monitor Singapore's used water network, which comprises public sewers and manholes.

Some 1,000 level sensors installed around the island provide PUB with early warning of any accumulation of used water, while 40 VOC sensors monitor the concentration levels of illegal substances discharged from industrial areas.

To enhance deterrence, fines for dumping waste water under the Sewerage and Drainage (Trade Effluent) Regulations will be raised to S$15,000 next year, from S$5,000 currently. This is to better aligned it with changes to the Sewerage and Drainage (Amendment) Act which came into effect Sept 1 this year.

Dump illegal substances into sewers? Sensors will smell a rat
Devices placed near factories help PUB protect S'pore's water network
Feng Zengkun Straits Times 28 Dec 12;

COMPANIES that dump their waste chemicals into the sewage system will now be up against a smarter opponent.

National water agency PUB has installed a $2.5 million network of 40 sensors across the island to help it nab such offenders.

They can detect up to 400 chemicals and are sensitive enough to pick up highly diluted concentrations of the substances.

Previously, PUB officers had to check the sewers with hand-held devices to identify toxic compounds like solvents and paint.

The new sensors are placed at points in the sewers that serve large clusters of factories, such as those in Kranji and Jurong's industrial areas.

These include sectors which are heavily reliant on chemicals, such as pharmaceutical and food companies, and toxic industrial waste collectors.

Since the monitoring network went online last month, it has alerted PUB officers to 20 instances of pollutants being dumped in the water.

The agency has identified the culprits in almost all of the cases and investigations are ongoing, it said during a briefing on the sensors yesterday.

PUB senior engineer Idaly Mamat said toxic and flammable chemicals in the water could endanger workers.

"An overly high concentration and illegal discharge of the volatile organic compounds could also affect the structural integrity of the public sewers," he added.

The agency said it is studying the sensors' effectiveness and will decide later whether to install more of them.

The new surveillance system is only the latest weapon in the PUB's arsenal to protect Singapore's water network.

To deter polluters, fines for dumping waste water with illegal substances under the Sewerage and Drainage (Trade Effluent) Regulations will be raised from $5,000 now to $15,000 next year. This is to align it with harsher penalties in the Sewerage and Drainage (Amendment) Act which took effect in September.

A new law introduced in April also allows PUB officers to enter homes and other buildings without notice, even if the occupants are not around.

Previously, the agency had to give advance notice of at least six hours, which could be a handicap when it came to gathering evidence of wrongdoing.

It can now react faster to search premises and collect evidence such as documents and water samples, and also compel the relevant parties to help out with investigations.