[ti:Singapore Turns Wastewater into Drinking Water]
[by:www.21voa.com]
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[00:00.04]The government of Singapore has created a highly developed system
[00:04.68]that turns wastewater into drinking water.
[00:09.60]The system involves a network of tunnels
[00:12.96]and high-technology treatment centers.
[00:17.04]Reused wastewater can now meet 40 percent of Singapore's water demand.
[00:25.20]The country’s water agency says it expects to meet
[00:29.60]55 percent of Singapore’s water demand by the year 2060.
[00:36.72]Most of the water is used for microchip manufacturing centers
[00:42.08]and cooling systems in buildings.
[00:46.08]But some of it is added to the country’s drinking water supplies.
[00:52.28]The system helps reduce ocean pollution,
[00:55.48]as only a small amount of the treated water is sent into the sea.
[01:02.60]The United Nations estimates that 80 percent of the world's wastewater
[01:08.64]flows back into the oceans without being treated or reused.
[01:15.32]Singapore has few natural water sources.
[01:19.84]The island nation has long had to depend
[01:23.64]mostly on supplies from neighboring Malaysia.
[01:28.92]Low Pei Chin is chief engineer of the water reclamation department
[01:33.76]of the Public Utilities Board.
[01:36.40]She told reporters with Agence France-Press,
[01:40.56]“Singapore lacks natural resources, and it is limited in space,
[01:45.84]which is why we are always looking for ways
[01:48.92]to explore water sources and stretch our water supply.”
[01:54.96]One major plan is to “collect every drop”
[01:58.68]and “reuse endlessly,” she added.
[02:03.24]The Changi Water Reclamation Plant on Singapore’s eastern coast
[02:08.32]is the main part of the country’s recycling system.
[02:13.36]Parts of the water treatment center are underground.
[02:17.88]Wastewater enters the center
[02:20.32]through a 48-kilometer tunnel that is linked to sewers.
[02:26.00]The center contains a large system of steel pipes, tubes,
[02:31.72]tanks, cleaning systems and other machinery.
[02:37.44]It can treat up to 900 million liters of wastewater a day.
[02:44.28]In one building, a network of air flow systems has been put in place
[02:49.92]to keep the air smelling as fresh as possible.
[02:55.20]Waste that arrives at the plant goes through a cleaning process
[03:00.36]before powerful pumps send it flowing to areas
[03:04.08]above ground for more treatment.
[03:08.08]There, the treated water receives additional cleaning.
[03:13.60]Bacteria and viruses are removed
[03:16.72]through highly developed cleaning processes
[03:19.68]and disinfected with ultraviolet radiation.
[03:24.72]Singapore is also in the process of expanding its recycling system.
[03:31.56]The country will add another underground tunnel
[03:35.40]and a major water treatment center
[03:37.76]to serve the western half of the island.
[03:42.16]Officials expect work on the center to be completed by 2025.
[03:48.88]By the time the expansion is finished, Singapore will have spent
[03:53.52]about $7.4 billion on its water treatment systems.
[04:00.00]I’m Jonathan Evans. 更多听力请访问21VOA.COM