When it comes to water, Singapore may be a victim of its own success, says world renowned water expert Asit Biswas. Water supplies are drying up at an unprecedented rate. But with the authorities here so efficient at making such effects invisible at the turn of the tap, Singapore residents continue to take a free flow of fresh, clean water for granted, Professor Biswas believes. - See more at: http://ifonlysingaporeans.blogspot.sg/2016/03/singapores-water-success-has-h2o-expert.html#sthash.Ljvr5X9U.dpuf
It wasn't very long ago that water is not bountiful as it is now.
1950s & 1960s. Singapore was hot. There was no rain for a few months. The government imposed water-rationing. At about 8.00a.m, all taps in our flats were turned off. There was no water! We had to go to a pipe downstairs with a bucket and queued for water. The water is for the day's use, as water will only come on at about 9.00p.m. No bathing, no cooking, no flushing of toilets etc. Unless you stock up water. There is water in pails, pots, containers etc as my mother filled up every available container in the flat. There were 9 of us then. Every drop of water counts, so please don't waste water.
http://www.singaporememory.sg/contents/SMB-e6adf2f0-5bb0-4c20-84c5-2cf0034c080a
1970s. Every family had to fill up pails and pots of water. We were not allowed to wash our hair on the rationing day.
http://www.singaporememory.sg/contents/SMB-4bee0485-16bd-42ae-a045-c96244dc645a
Interesting side note, Michael Burry of The Big Shorting of housing mortgages in the 2008 financial crisis fame is investing in water.
The last line of the movie, printed on a placard, is “Michael Burry is focusing all of his trading on one commodity: Water.” It sounds very ominous. Can you describe this position to me?
Fundamentally, I started looking at investments in water about 15 years ago. Fresh, clean water cannot be taken for granted. And it is not — water is political, and litigious. Transporting water is impractical for both political and physical reasons, so buying up water rights did not make a lot of sense to me, unless I was pursuing a greater fool theory of investment — which was not my intention. What became clear to me is that food is the way to invest in water. That is, grow food in water-rich areas and transport it for sale in water-poor areas. This is the method for redistributing water that is least contentious, and ultimately it can be profitable, which will ensure that this redistribution is sustainable. A bottle of wine takes over 400 bottles of water to produce — the water embedded in food is what I found interesting.
http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2015/12/big-short-genius-says-another-crisis-is-coming.html#
