Singapore’s national water agency, PUB, has come out to address the oil spill incident at Pasir Panjang Terminal.

"Singapore's water supply has not been affected," they assured.

In a statement released on Jun. 17, PUB announced that there is no impact to the island's freshwater reservoirs as the oil spill has been limited to our coastal areas and some coastal drains.

These drains convey and discharge stormwater to the sea and are not linked to our reservoirs.

Normal water quality readings

PUB explained that no oil has been detected near the seawater intake at Jurong Island Desalination Plant, which is closest to the oil spill location.

Water quality readings continue to be normal.

"The Marina East Desalination Plant, located further along the coast, has a dual-mode capability with the flexibility to treat either seawater or reservoir water," shared PUB.

The plant is currently in "reservoir" mode and treating water from the Marina Reservoir.

PUB said it will continue to monitor seawater quality carefully to ensure operations are not impacted.

The Singapore Food Agency also stated that there is a low risk of the oil spill spreading to the Johor Straits, where local fish farms are located.

Oil spill

The oil spill took place when a Netherlands-flagged ship ran into a stationary Singapore-flagged one near Pasir Panjang Terminal at about 2:20pm on Jun. 14.

The allision led to some oil from a damaged cargo tank on board the latter spilling into the water.

Waters at Sentosa's Tanjong, Palawan, and Siloso beaches were subsequently closed on Jun. 15 for cleaning.

More beaches also ended up being closed for clean-up, as announced by the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), National Environment Agency, National Parks Board (NParks) and Sentosa Development Corporation on Jun. 16.

These include certain affected areas at East Coast Park, Labrador Nature Reserve, and Sentosa, as well as the beaches at St John's, Lazarus, and Kusu Islands.

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Top image via Desmond Lee/Facebook