Jurong island groundwater study : water quality characterization

Abstract

Extraction of groundwater in Jurong Island has been under the radar in recent years due to the possibility of the groundwater possessing qualities viable to supply Singapore as a supplementary source. A pilot test well study has been carried out by the PUB to investigate the feasibility of abstracting groundwater from reclaimed parts of Jurong Island. Groundwater samples analyzed in PUB’s laboratory have shown that they are comparable to Singapore’s surface reservoir water in terms of quality and even superiority especially in its turbidity and suspended solids.

In this report, the existing companies on Jurong Island are categorized according to their respective industries in order to determine the quality of water required for their individual processes. A comparison will be made between the extracted groundwater and different national and Singapore standards to determine the necessary treatment processes for specific parameters chosen.

Based on the sustainable groundwater yield estimated on assumptions of the hydrological conditions of Jurong Island, the location, costs, type of pumps and installation of groundwater wells and pumps are to be taken into consideration to confirm the feasibility of extracting the target amount. Some parameters including aquifer depth, drawdown, % rainfall infiltration, ridge radius and pumping rate of the pump will affect the probability of saltwater intrusion into the groundwater.

As recommendations, artificial recharge will be discussed as a measure to increase the amount of infiltrated water in order to extract more than is naturally available as the future water demand will be steadily increasing.