Grace Fu, Singapore’s Minister for Sustainability and the Environment, advised residents not to drink, cook with or use for personal hygiene rainwater collected during haze, while saying treated tap water remained safe.
Fu delivered the guidance in a video recorded Oct. 24 at the Water Quality Laboratory of PUB, Singapore’s national water agency, following online circulation of clips showing dark rainwater. She said PUB increased its checks during the haze and found no unusual changes in treated water.
Fu said rainwater collected in hazy conditions can become more acidic and carry more particles and organic matter. She also described several treatment stages for reservoir water before it reaches taps, saying the process can filter particles as small as one-hundredth the size of PM2.5.
PUB says its tap water meets Singapore’s Food Safety and Security (Non-Packaged Drinking Water) Regulations 2025 and World Health Organization drinking-water guidelines. The agency says consumers can drink the water directly from the tap without further filtration.
The agency’s monitoring program includes close to 500,000 tests annually, covering physical, organic, inorganic, radiological and microbiological measures. Online sensors monitor water quality in real time at treatment stages and service reservoirs, PUB says.
Singapore’s National Environment Agency reported in an Oct. 17 update that the 24-hour Pollutant Standards Index was 130 to 199, within the unhealthy range. One-hour PM2.5 readings were 106 to 198 micrograms per cubic meter.
