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Singapore

Singapore's water supply not affected by oil spill, coastal drains not linked to reservoirs: PUB

Water quality readings remain normal and no oil has been detected near the seawater intake at Jurong Island Desalination Plant.

Singapore's water supply not affected by oil spill, coastal drains not linked to reservoirs: PUB

Workers setting up an oil boom during clean-up operations at Labrador Nature Reserve on Jun 15, 2024. (Photo: CNA reader)

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SINGAPORE: Singapore’s water supply has not been affected by the oil spill incident at Pasir Panjang Terminal, the national water agency said on Monday (Jun 17).

“There is no impact to our freshwater reservoirs as the oil spill has been limited to our coastal areas and some coastal drains. These drains convey and discharge stormwater to the sea and are not linked to our reservoirs,” said PUB.

Cleaning and containment efforts have been underway since the incident on Friday afternoon, when a dredger hit a bunker vessel at Pasir Panjang Terminal.

Oil started washing up on Saturday along the coast of several beaches in Singapore, including those on Sentosa island and in East Coast Park, staining the sand black and sending the stench of petrochemicals into the air.

PUB said no oil has been detected near the seawater intake at Jurong Island Desalination Plant, which is closest to the oil spill location.

“Water quality readings remain normal. The Marina East Desalination Plant, located further along the coast, has a dual-mode capability with the flexibility to treat either seawater or reservoir water. It is currently in ‘reservoir’ mode and treating water from the Marina Reservoir,” said the agency.
 
“We will continue to monitor seawater quality closely to ensure operations are not impacted.”

BIODIVERSITY-SENSITIVE AREAS

The authorities said in a separate joint statement on Monday evening that the next phase of clean-up operations has commenced, involving the additional deployment of various booms and oil recovery systems.

About 1,500m of booms have already been deployed, with plans to send out another 1,600m over the next few days.

These will be placed at designated sites to support the containment of accumulated oil to facilitate the clean-up operation off the beaches and shorelines, said the Maritime and Port Authority (MPA), National Environment Agency (NEA), National Parks Board (NParks), Sentosa Development Corporation (SDC), Singapore Food Agency (SFA) and PUB.

The authorities also noted that some of the oil was seen off Changi on Monday.

Additional booms will be installed as a preventive measure off Changi East.

A Current Buster system, a vessel-deployed specialised oil floating containment and recovery device, will also be deployed on Tuesday off the Changi Exhibition Centre as a "pre-emptive measure". 

The Current Buster consists of a boom with a skirt that extends into the water to corral and collect the oil on the surface. It is capable of accumulating up to five tonnes of oil in one craft-load before discharging.

A drone-captured photo of vessels towing a Current Buster system to capture oil spill off Labrador Nature Reserve on Jun 17, 2024. (Photo: MPA)

AIR QUALITY

The National Environment Agency (NEA) has been conducting daily air quality tests at affected areas along Sentosa, East Coast Park and Labrador Nature Reserve since Saturday.

This is to ensure the safety of the public and personnel involved in the clean-up operations, said the authorities.
 
The daily test includes measuring levels of volatile organic compounds that are commonly associated with bunkering fuels and other petrochemicals. This includes benzene, ethylbenzene, toluene and xylene.

“Thus far, the air quality at the affected areas is well within safe levels. In addition, NEA monitors ambient levels of volatile organic compounds at various locations in Singapore and no anomalies have been detected.”

As a precaution, the authorities advised members of the public against swimming at Changi beach and engaging in other “primary contact water activities” until further notice.

Such an advisory is already in place at Pasir Ris and Sembawang beaches due to elevated bacteria count.

Source: CNA/zl
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