Singapore International Water Week: Lorong Halus Waterway

Hi everyone! So, I was recently invited to participate in a trail walk on Saturday around Lorong Halus Wetlands in light of the Singapore International Water Week! (:

What is the Singapore International Water Week (SIWW)?

The SIWW is the global platform to share and co- create innovative water solutions. Comprising the Water Leaders Summit, Water Convention, Water Expo, Business Forums, Industrial Water Solutions Forum and TechXchange, it culminates in the presentation of the Lee Kuan Yew Water Prize, a prestigious international water award to recognize outstanding contributions towards solving global water problems.

Basically, this trail walk I went for was one of the events for the SIWW which is an informational walk on this reservoir's history and how the water is collected and purified here! (:

Woke up bright and early for the trail walk and headed there with Tzu! Thank goodness he was there to accompany me heh! (: There were about 40+ people for the walk, and the aunties on the walk were very cute hahaha. 

And here we go! (:

Lorong Halus Wetlands is located in the north-east part of Singapore, around Punggol and Pasir Ris (: It's quite popular with residents as a recreation place for cycling and walks. I actually had my photoshoot somewhere nearby too! (: 

But what most people don't know is that, Lorong Halus used to be a landfill from 1970 to 1999! It occupies about 234 hectares along the eastern bank of Sungei Serangoon back then. However, a fraction of this former landfill has now been changed into Lorong Halus Wetland to treat leachate. 

(Leachate is essentially any liquid material that contains elevated concentrations of undesirable material derived from the material that it has passed through.)

Pretty water lilies

The unique thing about this wetland area is that, water isn't treated by chemical means but instead via the environment itself?! (: Plants specially planted at reed beds would absorb nutrients from the leachate, and thus providing a suitable habitat for plants and animals. This ecosystem helps to protect our reservoir water! (:

An impermeable wall made of cement, bentonite and soil is also installed to intercept leachate along the length of the former landfill before it is distributed into the reed beds. It helps to contain the lechate and prevent it from seeping into the reservoir.

The two photos above are of some of the plants in the reed beds (: 

The reservoir

The dam

The dam helps to regulate flow from the sea in between high and low tides. It also helps to balance the salinity of water in the reservoir. 

And here's another of us, along the red bridge which overlooks the beautiful reservoir (: 

The trail walk was overall really fun and enriching I feel! (: I've never known the background that goes behind the whole purification system, and it's pretty amazing how it is done! It was a lovely morning too, to have a walk around the area (: 

For articles regarding the SIWW, do visit http://waterchatter.wordpress.com/ too! (: 

Thanks for reading everyone, and do pay Lorong Halus Waterway a visit some time for a day of recreation, fun and to also learn about water conservation! ♡