Like its counterparts, the wider south-central region [?] has made some great contributions to the geography and history of Singapore. The Botanic Gardens [!] spring to mind, for it was from here that Henry Nicholas Ridley literally sowed the seeds for the Malayan rubber industry in 1888.

Of course, it was also around this time that the horseless carriage was invented. This meant that there was a sudden increase in the demand for rubber tyres. The Singapore River was the centre of the Malayan rubber trade.

The boom in bales brought forth the banks in big buildings along the banks. Examples are the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation at Collyer Quay, and the Mercantile Bank of India at Raffles Place. The banks used the warehouses beside the river to store goods used as collateral for loans.

On 4 December 1919, a Vickers Vimy touched down at the Farrer Park race course. It was the very first plane to land on Singaporean soil. It had come all the way from London, and was on its way to Darwin. Still on an aviatory theme, the old Kallang Airport is nearby. It is now the People's Association Headquarters Building.

In order to build the airport, part of the Kallang River basin had to be reclaimed. This took place between 1932 and 1936. At the official opening in June 1937, it was dubbed 'the finest airport in the British Empire'.

After the war, water pollution was very severe because of littering, discharge of human waste, and the nearby presence of pig and duck farms (in fact, the rivers were polluted even during Raffles's time). The latter were probably there because during the Japanese Occupation [?], it was necessary to rear one's own sources of meat. By the fifties, our population had reached one million. Singapore's main water supply was already from the Sungei Terbrau in Johor.

The Kallang Basin, together with the Singapore River, saw major engineering works again between February 1977 and September 1987, in an effort to restore water quality. Tonnes of refuse and debris had to be removed.

26000 families were moved out of their congested villages and squatter settlements from the unsewered areas to the HDB [!] estates. 2800 traders were moved into flatted factories [?] in the industrial estates [?]. 5000 hawkers and 700 pig and duck farmers were persuaded to look for other ways to earn a living. By March 1982, there were no more pig and duck farms in Kampung San Teng and Ang Mo Kio. Fruit and vegetable wholesalers were moved to the Pasir Panjang Wholesale Market.

About 750 lighters (which had been plying the river since the days of Raffles) were relocated to the Pasir Panjang Wharves in 1983, where there were modern facilities for the loading and unloading of goods, as well as for mooring. Some of the boat yards along the Geylang river were resited at Jurong and Tuas. Others closed down.

Water is precious to us because nearly half of our daily average rate of consumption of about 1.13 billion litres is imported from Malaysia. Additionally, forty percent of our land area is designated as water catchment. We have been importing water since as long ago as 1927.

We have signed two Water Agreements with Malaysia. In 2011, the 1961 Agreement, which draws water from the Terbrau, Skudai and Pulai Rivers (the latter includes the Pontian reservoir and catchment) will expire. Our projected consumption is expected to exceed the amount we are entitled to today. In 2061, the 1962 Agreement, which draws water from the Johor River, will expire.

The river is large, but is subject to tidal influence. Sea water is usually brought upstream as a salt wedge during February neap tides. During this time, the freshwater discharge of the river falls to 1.36 billion litres daily, down from an average of 2.16 billion litres. To address the shortfall, large dams and reservoirs have been built upstream, for example, at Linggiu. Water is stored in these reservoirs during the rainy season and released in February to help drive the salt wedge downstream.

The import of water from Linggiu is part of a pact, sealed in 1990 and based on a Memorandum of Understanding signed two years earlier, in which Singapore undertook to buy natural gas from Malaysia at the same time. Engineering works at Linggiu cost $96 million, and were completed by Singapore in 1994. Linggiu has a storage capacity of 763 million cubic metres and a total catchment of 21600 hectares. It belongs to the state of Johor.

The possibility of importing water from the Malaysian state of Pahang is being explored (the Pahang river has a daily discharge of 18.2 billion litres), and in June 1991, a so-called 'umbrella agreement' worth $1.5 billion was signed to allow joint venture companies to draw up to 4.5 billion litres from Indonesia for fifty years. Initially 136 million litres will be imported from Bintan daily and piped to Bedok reservoir. This amount is equivalent to the capacity of the Upper Seletar reservoir. Put another way, it represents the water needs of only four wafer fabrication plants.

Subsequently, more water may be obtained from the Kampar river in Sumatra. Like the Johor river however, the Kampar drains into tidal flats, which would necessitate a 450 kilometre-long detour in the pipeline, exclusive of the 150 kilometre-long undersea pipeline to bring the water to Singapore.

At present, there are fourteen reservoirs in Singapore. Some of these are natural, others are not. There were basically four phases in the history of the reservoirs. The earliest (Upper and Lower Peirce, Upper Seletar and MacRitchie) are of course those in the central catchment [!] area, where the relief is relatively higher.

The second phase comprises those made by building dams across rivers. These are the Pandan, Jurong Lake, Kranji and Lower Seletar reservoirs. Similar to these are those in the third phase - the western catchment, formed by building dykes along Singapore's westernmost coastline. These are the Sarimbun, Murai, Poyan and Tengeh reservoirs.

Finally comes the urban stormwater collection scheme. In this scheme, storm drains channel water from Bedok [!] and Tampines [!] to Bedok reservoir, which itself has no natural catchment. Water from Yishun and Ang Mo Kio is also channelled via this scheme to the Lower Seletar reservoir, and thence to Bedok reservoir. The latter has a capacity of 90.9 billion litres daily. Including the cost of the Bedok waterworks, this scheme was extremely expensive, costing $277 million to build when completed in 1986.

In 1998, the Upper Seletar reservoir will receive stormwater from an innovative scheme, which sees the building of a collection pond beneath the Seletar-Bukit Timah Expressway interchange. Unlike existing landscaped facilities servicing Sungei Pang Sua (in Bukit Panjang) and Sungei Mandai Kecil, this pond will be built of reinforced concrete at a cost of $45.5 million by the PWD (compared to between $2 million to $7 million for more traditional facilities). It will store water to meet the needs of more than ten thousand households and is part of the Public Utilities Board's (PUB) 'Seletar Streams' redevelopment project (which accounts for 9.4 percent of our water catchment area). By using the land in this way (instead of for growing shrubs and other plants), land use in the area is maximized, water supply is increased, and 1.8 hectares of land is freed for other uses. The pond will receive its water from run-off from the Sungei Mandai catchment, via a canal and pumping station.

By 2000, the 'Seletar Streams' scheme would have redeveloped water catchments in the north. Specifically, stormwater catchment facilities in Sembawang and Sembang Kecil will channel water to the Upper Seletar reservoir, and thence to Woodleigh Waterworks. They will have replaced existing natural catchment because of the higher surface runoff associated with built-up areas.

In order to temper demand, industrial water is used regularly, and industries are encouraged to recycle water. Industrial water is about five times cheaper than potable water. It is used for watering roadside plants and golf courses, cooling, washing and processing (in paper, textile and steel mills, chemical plants, shipyards and refineries). Until 1990, industrial water was also used in some homes in Jurong to flush toilets and clean refuse chutes. This was stopped because the high levels of ammonia, chlorides and phosphates corroded the pipes and raised a stench. However, because of the savings involved (about twenty percent of water used in homes goes just to flush toilets), the feasibility of improving the quality of industrial water, as well as using treated bath water, is being investigated.

Offices, refineries, factories and construction sites are required to install the following water-saving devices at their premises: taps which turn off automatically, regulators on the taps to limit water flow, spring-loaded nozzles on hoses to cut off water flow automatically, and the collection of rainwater and its recycling at vehicle washing bays.

In public housing, low-capacity flushing cisterns (which only flush 3.5 litres instead of nine) have been installed since 1992.

In 1995, the PUB sent all households three thimbles each. Thimbles reduce excessive water pressure and flow. Since April that year, the water consumption tax was raised for both domestic and industrial users alike.

In 1996, households were given water usage monitoring charts, so that they could compare their water consumption levels against national averages (which is 17000 litres monthly for households living in apartments and 28000 litres monthly for households living on landed property).

As we learned in Chapter Two, the months of June to October are relatively less wet because of the influence of the south monsoon. June thus also sees the annual 'National Save Water Campaign'. Neighbourhood water rationing exercises, where water is shut off for hours, are also conducted. Furthermore, the PUB is already running a pilot desalination plant.

Desalinated water is estimated to cost eight times more than at present, mainly due to energy costs. Singapore will need a desalination plant by 2003, according to current projections. Multi-stage flash distillation will be used as part of a dual purpose plant (meaning that effluent stem from a power station will be used for the distillation), most likely to be built in Tuas.

In this process, which is based on the principle that boiling point and pressure are proportionally related, brine passes through a series of about thirty chambers at progressively lower pressures. It boils instantaneously (flashes) at each chamber, giving off water vapour. The resultant steam generated is in turn used to heat up incoming sea water, transported to the plant via pipeline or tanker.

Each day, the billion dollar plant will produce 136 million litres of water and 170 megawatts of electricity. Further in the future, distillation through reverse osmosis [?] may be used by two more planned plants, to be ready by the expiry of the 1961 Water Agreement (bringing daily supply up to 400 million litres).

In mid-1998, Singapore's first suspended pedestrian bridge was built over the Geylang River, linking the Indoor Stadium with Tanjong Rhu. It spans a distance of 120 metres, and is three metres wide. It is supported on concrete plinths and is suspended by steel cables towering fifteen metres into the sky. The bridge is capable of carrying five thousand pedestrians per hour in both directions.

Still in the Kallang area, we find the nine hectare Kampong Glam [!] Historic District along Arab Street. A heritage park is proposed for the site of the former Sultan's Palace. This park will boast a showhouse, a community [?] house and an arts and crafts centre. Bussorah Street has already been pedestrianised and turned into a festival street.

Kampong Glam takes its name from the gelam tree (which was a species of acacia growing in that area). In the early days prior to the coming of Raffles, Singapore's first British Resident - William Farquhar (later Major-General Farquhar) - thought that Kampong Glam would be the island's ideal trading centre. Raffles, however, thought otherwise. He wanted the other side of the Singapore River. Farquhar rejected this side because of the high cost of reclaiming the muddy land there. But Raffles pressed on, and eventually won the day.

When all the swampy ground near the Singapore River had been reclaimed, the land [?] was auctioned off. Double-storeyed terrace houses with their own private jetties (Singapore's first waterfront housing!) were built, and the area was popular among the Chinese merchants because the bank resembled the belly of a carp. The area is today known as Boat Quay [!].

On the flat land from which earth was taken to reclaim the quay, stands present-day Raffles Place.

Nearly a hundred and eighty years after Raffles first landed, waterfront housing, with shops on the lower floors and apartments above, will once again be a common sight along the river, this time at Robertson Quay. These will be served by water taxis.

The wider south-central region [?] is rather geologically varied. For example, while Queenstown rests on the Jurong Formation, Bukit Timah, Novena and Bishan lie on granite, while Toa Payoh, Kallang, Geylang and Marine Parade [!] are of course seated on the Kallang Formation (in fact, that is where Toa Payoh got its name from - 'Toa Payoh' meaning 'big swamp'). Besides Kallang, both Marine Parade and Pasir Panjang have seen extensive land reclamation [?] since the seventies.

During October to March, Queenstown, Kallang, Geylang and Marine Parade receive on average 150 mm to 165 mm per month, Bukit Timah, Novena and Toa Payoh receive 165 mm to 200 mm per month and Bishan receives more than 235 mm per month.

During April to September, Kallang, Geylang and Marine Parade receive on average less than 115 mm per month, Queenstown, Bukit Timah, Novena and Toa Payoh receive 115 mm to 135 mm per month, and Bishan receives 135 mm to 150 mm per month.

The average literacy rate [?] for the whole of the south-central region in 1990 was only 88.7 percent (compared to the national average of 90.0 percent). This was the lowest in Singapore, mainly because of the higher proportion of illiterate elderly people living there. In fact, geriatric services are clustered around Bukit Merah, Tiong Bahru, Redhill and Henderson because that is mainly where the old, poor and sick are.

In terms of population densities, Tanglin, Novena and Marine Parade [!] house between 5000 to 10000 people per square kilometre, Bukit Merah, Queenstown, Bukit Timah, Kallang, Geylang and Bishan house between 10000 to 20000 people per square kilometre, and Toa Payoh tops the list with more than 20000 residents per square kilometre.

It was therefore hardly surprising when it was announced in September 1995 that Toa Payoh, which was Singapore's first comprehensive satellite town, would be the first housing estate to be redeveloped as an entire estate under the HDB's [!] Estate Renewal Strategy. This will take place by the turn of the century. Among the many improvements planned, there will be two new office blocks, renovated community [?] centres, five thousand new flats with card-security systems and widened pedestrian malls.

As for the other areas in this wider south-central region [?] of Singapore, by the year 2000, the Pan-Island Expressway (PIE) will be linked to the ECP by the proposed Kallang Expressway.

By early 1999, Singapore's first Light Rail Transit (LRT) system will be in operation at Bukit Panjang. Built at a cost of $285 million, the eight-kilometre-long line will ply between Bukit Panjang New Town and the Choa Chu Kang [!] MRT station.

By the end of 2002, the north-east MRT line should be in place, and two years later the thirteen-kilometre-long $1.75 billion underground Marina Line will run from Kallang to People's Park, via Marina Centre and the new Downtown. The line will also be linked to Dhoby Ghaut, and the driverless trains will be expandable from four to six carriages to cope with demand.

By 2010 the Kallang Expressway will be extended to Marina East. By Year X, a LRT will link Pasir Panjang with Keppel. The LRT systems will cost $300 million each, which is about a quarter the cost of an equivalent MRT line. Manpower and operating costs will also be lower than the MRT system because the trains will be driver-less.

An LRT system takes half the time (about four years) of an MRT line to build. Fares will tentatively be no higher than for air-conditioned buses. Each carriage has a capacity of 105 people (trains will comprise two carriages during peak hours), stops will be an average of about six hundred metres apart and the routes will be approximately ten kilometres long.

This compares to the MRT system which, including the new northeast MRT line, is 103 kilometres long. The network is targeted to grow to at least 160 kilometres. Work started on the MRT in 1987, and about 675000 passenger trips are made on it daily (fifty percent more than what is projected for the Marina Line, and five times that projected for the Bukit Panjang LRT). Each train has a capacity of 1800 people. While MRT trains run on steel wheels and tracks, the LRT will run on rubber wheels and concrete tracks, for a quieter ride. It will therefore be able to travel nearer to (fifteen metres), and even within, buildings.

The LRT systems will be used first as a neighbourhood feeder system to take people from their apartments to the major transport systems, second as short distance links between office complexes, shopping centres and recreation centres, and third as a link between New Towns. Nearby buildings will be linked to the stops by covered walkways. At each stop, there will be displays showing arrival times, closed-circuit television, telephones and ticket vending machines

Buona Vista, Bishan, Serangoon and Marine Parade [!] will each be developed into 'sub-regional centres' [?], which will be the equivalent of four 'Centrepoint' [!] shopping centres. They will each serve as many as 270 000 people.

It is in Bishan that the NParks [!] has implemented the first of several moves to make Singapore more bicycle-friendly. Singapore's first bicycle-crossing signal allows cyclists to cross roads without being obliged to dismount first. It is part of a plan to smoothen rides along the Park Connector Network (PCN), which will eventually link the major parks (such as Jurong Hill Park) through 360 kilometres of tree-lined jogging and cycling tracks.

The tracks will have rain-shelters and fitness stations. So far, four stretches in Kallang and Ulu Pandan, totalling 11.8 kilometres, have been completed. Perhaps the best news about the PCN is that, because the tracks are built above existing drainage sewers, there is no opportunity cost in terms of additional land being taken up.

Yachting marinas are planned for the south coast of the Bukit Merah area.