New award, magazine launched to raise awareness of water issues

By Julia Ng, Channel NewsAsia
22 March 2007

SINGAPORE: It is World Water Day on March 22 and national water agency PUB has launched two initiatives to raise awareness of water issues in Singapore.

One of them is the PURE magazine, which aims to educate the public, especially the young, on water conservation.

The free street magazine – to be produced quarterly by MediaCorp Publishing – is the first lifestyle magazine that revolves around water.

Targeted at students and young adults on the go, PURE features water activities such as the best fishing spots in Singapore, travel destinations with water attractions, consumer tips on how to save water in the home and interviews with water-loving personalities such as avid wakeboarder and actress, Michelle Chia.

Dr Amy Khor, Senior Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources, said: "We want to remind Singaporeans all the time to cherish and treasure our water resource which is available in adequate supply not by accident but by really careful planning. That's one of the reasons why we are launching PURE to complement our other efforts."

The Friends of Water programme was launched on World Water Day last year.

Since then, more than 400 individuals and organisations have been recognised as water-lovers and guardians of the precious resource.

The second initiative that is launched this year is a higher award called the Watermark Award.

It will recognise Friends of Water who go the extra mile for the water cause, such as educating the public on keeping the drains litter-free or rallying the community to clean waterways.

Nominations are open on March 22 and will close on May 15.

More details about the award are available at the PUB website.