Domestic Solutions to the International Problem of Water Scarcity: Singapore, a Case Study

• Citation: Vol. 42 No. 1
• Publication year: 2013
• topic: Environmental Law

DOMESTIC SOLUTIONS TO THE INTERNATIONAL PROBLEM OF WATER SCARCITY: SINGAPORE, A CASE STUDY

Suzanne Timmons Lewis^*

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. INTRODUCTION ...............................................................................248

II. WATER SCARCITY: AN INTERNATIONAL PROBLEM .......................249

III. SINGAPORE ......................................................................................254

A. A Water-Poor State..................................................................254
B. A Domestic Solution.................................................................258

IV. IS SINGAPORE'S SOLUTION EXPORTABLE TO GEORGIA? ................261

V. CONCLUSION ...................................................................................266

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I. Introduction

Water scarcity is a critical international problem. The United Nations (UN) is calling 2005-2015 the International Decade for Action 'Water for Life."¹ To address the water scarcity issue, the U.N. considers both resource-poor countries and countries with limited infrastructure capabilities to yield existing water resources from above- and below-ground sources.² Nations across the globe face severe water shortages, especially in Africa.³ While the most severe shortages are in developing countries, water scarcity also occurs in developed nations. Besides providing for basic human necessities, access to water also has security and economic implications. In war time, water resources may be attacked, or if one side usually provides water to the other, water supplies may be cut off.⁴ When one nation controls water access for another state, tension remains even in the absence of military conflict and creates an imbalance of power. That discrepancy in turn influences those nations' relations and any negotiations. Naturally, states wish to be independent of such pressure in political relations and to be in control of their own access to resources. As water scarcity increases, the drastic human suffering due to thirst and lack of sanitation will lead to discontent and possibly water wars.⁵ In light of the water scarcity issue facing the international community, Singapore provides a valuable case study for methods Georgia could use to achieve water independence through domestic programs, particularly technological approaches.

Globally, nations have taken several different approaches to deal with the issue of water scarcity. First, international law addresses the duties riparian states owe each other based on their status of up or downstream state. Second, nations have also entered into trade treaties with their neighbors to supplement their water supply. Third, domestic conservation efforts decrease the demand for water, so the available local water can stretch further. Finally, nations have also used technical solutions such as desalinization plants or rain catchment methods to capture and treat obtainable water.

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In facing its own water scarcity, Singapore has chosen to focus on domestic and technological solutions to overcome its dependency on water imports. Singapore is a wealthy but water-resource-poor country. In the past, Singapore has relied primarily on its northern neighbor Malaysia for its water supply based on water agreements negotiated in 1961 and 1962. Strained relations and an expanding population stressed that relationship to the point that traditional trade agreements proved inadequate, so Singapore decided to try to become water independent.⁶

Because Singapore experiences heavy rainfall, its domestic efforts to achieve water independence were initially focused on developing a large system of rain catchment reservoirs. It is also a coastal state, and Singapore invested heavily in desalinization plants with an emphasis on clean energy. Additionally, Singapore created an extensive underground sewage treatment facility that produces non-potable water used in industrial settings, allowing potable water to be used solely for drinking. These methods have proved effective and Singapore is on track to become water independent by 2060.⁷

Part II will explore the international water scarcity issue. Water is necessary to human and animal life as well as agriculture, so nations strive to provide an adequate water supply. Geography and borders, however, do not always facilitate easy access to water, which can generate much conflict. As a consequence, many nations are water poor: because there is not enough water within their borders; because the present water is dirty, wasted, or unobtainable; or both. Part III will overview why Singapore decided to make changes aimed at achieving water independence. These reasons include political, geographical, and demographic factors. Next, Part IV will outline what efforts Singapore has made with a focus on its technological innovativeness and how much water those developments generate. Finally, Part V will argue which of these specific methods are most adoptable in Georgia.

II. Water Scarcity: An International Problem

International law has created various ways to deal with issues of rights to access water. Often, countries share riparian rights to freshwater sources like rivers. In the territorial integrity model, downstream countries can demand that their upstream neighbors not only share their water but also limit their consumption to ensure that there is enough for those people relying on the

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downstream water.⁸ Under the territorial sovereignty doctrine, however, upstream states can decide what to do with their water without considering the needs of the downstream state.⁹ International law prefers the former view over the latter, even though that essentially gives downstream states a veto power over their upstream neighbors.¹⁰ In more recent years, a new approach—equitable utilization—has been put forward, which ensures that "all [s]tates in a watercourse share sovereignty over the resource, and their interests must be reasonably balanced."¹¹ This is the most favored approach and is endorsed by the 1997 UN Watercourses Convention.¹²

Even though the legal framework seems like it determines use, states and nations cannot always agree on water management. According to the UN, "there is enough freshwater on the planet for six billion people but it is distributed unevenly and too much of it is wasted, polluted and unsustainably managed."¹³ Water inequity leads to disputes among nations; when those disputes arise, nations may try to renegotiate existing treaties, create new ones, or even consult the International Court of Justice to determine water rights.¹⁴ If an agreement cannot be reached to satisfy water demand, or if access must be substantially limited in order to share water among surrounding nations, a nation or state may need to consider alternative ways to supplement water for its residents. Trade in water is one solution. Trade, though, is also subject to the political tensions present in negotiations. More recent methods include developments to catch and store rainwater in addition to desalinization. Through such systems, a state can focus its energies domestically to address this international problem.

The international problem of water scarcity can also be felt locally in Georgia. Increasing populations and drought have led to Georgia being

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embroiled in "water wars" with the surrounding states for over twenty years.¹⁵

These conflicts can be conceptualized comparatively with the water tensions between Singapore and Malaysia. Georgia has experienced various levels of drought and only recently has the northeastern part of the state emerged from prolonged drought.¹⁶ In 2012, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a ruling that Atlanta metro residents were using too much water from Lake Lanier.¹⁷ Besides assuring a water supply for about three million Atlanta residents, this ruling also altered Georgia's negotiating position with Alabama and Florida.¹⁸ Besides harming residential and agricultural interests, a lack of water also causes to be businesses reluctant to enter an without a certainty of water access.¹⁹

In Georgia, which has a riparian water rights system, property owners whose land touches surface water sources have a right to reasonable use of the natural flow of that water.²⁰ Groundwater is also a private ownership property right,²¹ in which the government can interfere only in nuisance situations.²² Georgia's water laws have been codified: "Running water belongs to the owner of the land on which it runs; but the landowner has no right to divert the water from its usual channel nor may he so use or adulterate it as to interfere with the enjoyment of it by the next owner."²³

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The Georgia Water Control Quality Act sets forth requirements to obtain a permit for surface water removals.²⁴ The policy states

the water resources of the state shall be utilized prudently for the maximum benefit of the people, in order to restore and maintain a reasonable degree of purity in the waters of the state and an adequate supply of such waters, and to require where necessary reasonable usage of the waters of the state and reasonable treatment of sewage, industrial wastes, and other wastes prior to their discharge into such waters.²⁵

To do so, the government takes the responsibility of assuring water quality through the Environmental Protection Division of the Department of Natural Resources.²⁶ State water permits are required to discharge pollutants into water sources²⁷ and other federal permit requirements may also be implicated by such actions.²⁸ Additionally, permits are necessary before removing surface water of generally more than 100,000 gallons monthly.²⁹

But, like the international framework that cannot prevent the problems caused by water scarcity, Georgia's water scheme has been ineffective in avoiding conflict with its neighbors. As recently as August 2013, Florida governor Rick Scott declared his intention to seek an...