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Bedok Reservoir

Bedok Reservoir, located north of Bedok New Town, was one of two reservoirs built by the Public Utilities Board (PUB) as part of its Sungei Seletar/Bedok Water Scheme. Construction work on the scheme began in 1983 and was completed in 1986 at a cost of S$277 million. When operating at top water level, the reservoir has a surface area of 88 hectares.

Background
The Sungei Seletar/Bedok Water Scheme was initiated primarily to meet the increasing demand for fresh water in the eastern and northeastern parts of Singapore, due to the rapid development of housing estates and light industrial areas. Unlike in earlier water schemes, stormwater collected from urban catchments would be the main source of raw water.

Planning work began as early as 10-15 years before actual construction. This included putting land-use guidelines in place to protect the designated catchment areas from potentially harmful activities, such as farming, that could pollute the reservoir basin.

The scheme consisted of two reservoirs, a water treatment plant and nine stormwater collection stations. It involved building a dam across the mouth of Sungei Seletar to form the Sungei Seletar Reservoir (now called Lower Seletar Reservoir) and converting a large sand quarry formerly used by the Housing and Development Board into the Bedok Reservoir.

Bedok Reservoir was designed as a collection point for stormwater gathered from nine catchment areas located in Bedok, Tampines and Yan Kit. Eight of these nine catchments were equipped with a collection pond and a pumping station to pump stormwater from the pond into the reservoir via a pipeline. Water from the ninth catchment was transferred to the reservoir through a gravity-flow diversion channel.

A water treatment plant, Bedok Waterworks, was built about 400m west of the reservoir to treat the water from both reservoirs in the Sungei Seletar/Bedok Water Scheme. Two pumping stations and 17km of pipelines facilitated the transfer of raw water from Sungei Seletar Reservoir to Bedok Reservoir then to the treatment plant, which had an initial daily treatment capacity of 136,000 cubic metres.

Recreational Activities
Bedok Reservoir was the first reservoir to be upgraded and made more conducive for recreational activities under the PUB's ABC Waters Programme, which aims to keep Singapore's waterways and reservoirs clean, aesthetically pleasing and bustling with activities. This is part of PUB's strategy to draw more visitors to the reservoirs and to create awareness about the use and protection of Singapore's water resources. The upgrading works at Bedok Reservoir included installing more street lamps, planting more trees, enhancing pedestrian access, and building a fishing deck and a slipway pontoon for boats and kayaks.

Today, the reservoir and its surrounding park are attractive lifestyle destinations popular with not only water-sports and fishing enthusiasts but also cyclists, inline skaters, joggers and picnickers. Besides hosting water-sports competitions such as the Wakeboard World Cup and the SAVA Sprints International dragon boat race, it is also a venue for various land-based events. In 2008, Dutch theatre group The Lunatics staged a performance entitled "Hydro Sapiens" at the reservoir as part of the Singapore Arts Festival's closing celebrations.

Timeline
Nov 1981 : Earthworks for the water treatment plant commenced.
Feb 1982 : Camp, Dresser & McKee, the external consultant hired for the scheme, completed its feasibility study and began designing and preparing the contract drawings.
Jan 1983 : First civil works contract for the scheme was awarded.
Aug 1986 : Construction of the scheme was fully completed. Bedok Waterworks began distributing its treated water to consumers on 15 August.
Oct 2004 : Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Yaacob Ibrahim announced plans to introduce more recreational activities at selected reservoirs, including Bedok Reservoir.
Aug 2005 : Temasek Polytechnic adopted the reservoir as part of PUB's Our Waters programme to involve individuals and groups in caring for Singapore's water bodies.
Nov 2005 : Finalised plan for the enhancement of Bedok Reservoir was unveiled.



Author
Regina De Rozario



References
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Dragon boat race to grow. (2005, October 10). TODAY. Retrieved March 4, 2009, from Factiva database.

Lee, M. F. (1985). The Sungei Seletar/Bedok Water Scheme. PUB Digest, 3, 24-31.
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Madhavan, S. (2008, June 21). Hydro visual treat at Bedok Reservoir. The Business Times. Retrieved March 4, 2009, from Factiva database.

National Parks Singapore. (n.d.). Bedok Reservoir Park. Retrieved March 4, 2009, from http://www.nparks.gov.sg/cms/index.php?option=com_visitorsguide&task=parks&id=6&Itemid=73

Public Utilities Board. (1982). Annual report 1981. Singapore: Author.
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Public Utilities Board. (1982). Public Utilities Board Singapore. Singapore: Author.
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Public Utilities Board. (1987). Annual report 1986. Singapore: Author.
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Public Utilities Board. (1997). Singapore's water supply. Singapore: Author.
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Public Utilities Board. (2005 August 24). PUB launches Our Waters programme to nurture ownership of water resources [Press release]. Retrieved March 4, 2009, from http://www.pub.gov.sg/mpublications/Pages/PressReleases.aspx

Public Utilities Board. (2005, November 4). Bedok Reservoir - A lifestyle attraction for all [Press release]. Retrieved March 4, 2009, from http://www.pub.gov.sg/mpublications/Pages/PressReleases.aspx

Soven gets 4th win in S'pore leg of Wakeboard World Cup. (2007, September 23). Channel NewsAsia. Retrieved March 4, 2009, from Factiva database.

Tan, Y. S. (c2009). Clean, green and blue: Singapore's journey towards environmental and water sustainability. Singapore: ISEAS Publishing.
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Water Department, Singapore. (1982). Water Department: An introduction. Singapore: Public Utilities Board.
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Water sports in store at 8 reservoirs. (2004, October 10). The Straits Times. Retrieved March 4, 2009, from Factiva database.



The information in this article is valid as at 2009 and correct as far as we are able to ascertain from our sources. It is not intended to be an exhaustive or complete history of the subject. Please contact the Library for further reading materials on the subject.

 

Subject
Nature>>Nature Conservation>>Reservoirs
Recreation>>Places of Interest
Reservoirs--Singapore
Outdoor recreation--Singapore
Sports, recreation and travel>>Water sports



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