The water fee structure and charges will not be changed this year, assured Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Vivian Balakrishnan during the Committee of Supply Debate yesterday.
He was responding to Workers’ Party chief Low Thia Khiang, who charged that the Government had “overtaxed” Singapore households on water consumption and called for a review on taxes.
Holding up a copy of national water agency PUB’s 2011 annual report, Dr Balakrishnan noted it costs S$1.3 billion annually to operate Singapore’s water treatment and reclamation plants and sewerage system, and that PUB collected S$674 million in water tariffs and S$327 million in waterborne and sanitary appliance fees in the last financial year.
“That’s nowhere near S$1.3 billion,” said Dr Balakrishnan. “Even if you add the water conservation tax, you still would not reach the S$1.3 billion.
“So the point is, we are not overcharging for water as far as funding the system which you have.”
In the 2010 Financial Year, S$175.6 million in water conservation taxes were collected.
While he did consider Mr Low’s suggestion to consolidate the waterborne and sanitary appliance fees into a “volumetric charge”, Dr Balakrishnan pointed out that this would mean charging smaller households more, as they have fewer sanitary appliances. “In a sense, the larger households with more toilets will get a bigger discount,” he added. “I didn’t think that was right for this year’s climate, so I decided we will not change the two.”
The sanitary appliance fee is a fixed component based on the number of sanitary fittings, whereas the waterborne fee is charged based on the volume of water used in each premises. Both fees offset the cost of treating used water and for the operation and maintenance of the public sewer system.
While he updated the House on flood management, Dr Balakrishnan felt ensuring the resilience and security of Singapore’s water supply is a “greater concern”. The water catchment will be extended to cover practically all meaningful land area in Singapore “in the long term”, while NEWater and desalination capacities will be boosted to meet 50 per cent and 30 per cent of water demand, respectively, by 2060.
But Mr Low said the sanitary appliance and waterborne fees had “offset the cost of treating used water” and that NEWater has become a “source of income” for PUB, which “resells clean water” back to households.
In response, Dr Balakrishnan reiterated that the Government was not “profiteering” on water. Instead, the PUB is requesting S$225 million and S$409 million in operating and development expenditure, respectively.
While water will be priced correctly as a precious commodity, Dr Balakrishnan said the Government will ensure that water remains affordable for everyone.
Turning to waste management, Dr Balakrishnan said that the Environmental Public Health Act will be amended to make it mandatory for large hotels and shopping malls to submit waste management data and improvement plans in 2014. This is to get companies to minimise waste.
The National Environment Agency will also implement a Pneumatic Refuse Conveyance System in Marina Bay by 2015.
This automated centralised refuse system for a particular district increases the efficiency of waste collection and reduces vehicular traffic, smell and noise.
