Singapore’s National Water Agency PUB’s Water Quality Department has been re-designated as a World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborating Centre for Safe Management of Drinking Water and Integrated Urban Water Management from 2020 to 2024.
This marks PUB’s third consecutive four-year term since 2012. As a WHO Collaborating Centre, PUB played an active role in hosting and participating in WHO Expert meetings, supporting WHO programmes, and contributing technical expertise to WHO research studies and publications. (Refer to here for a list of key activities)
“This re-designation is a testament to PUB’s water management expertise and its high standard of water quality. We are pleased to support WHO and its Member States as a regional knowledge and technical resource centre. It has been a privilege for us to share our expertise, conduct training courses and collaborate actively on research opportunities. We also stand ready to provide resources to assist in drinking-water safety during emergency and disaster response,” said Dr Lim Mong Hoo, PUB Chief Specialist (Water Quality) and Director for Water Quality Department.
PUB’s Water Quality Department implements the stringent and comprehensive water quality sampling and monitoring programme, and conducts over 500,000 water quality tests annually on more than 300 parameters to ensure a clean and safe water supply to the whole of Singapore. It also carries out R&D to improve water quality and water quality monitoring technologies, and enhance laboratory-testing capabilities.
“WHO is pleased to continue our partnership with PUB. As a leading water utility renowned for its integrated water management and drinking water quality, PUB is a valuable member of WHO’s global network and has generously shared its knowledge, experience and resources in drinking-water management towards WHO’s urban drinking water and public health strategies. We look forward to greater collaboration between both organisations to implement sustainable water solutions worldwide” said Dr Maria Neira, Director of the Environment, Climate Change and Health Department, World Health Organization.
For its third term as a WHO Collaborating Centre, PUB will also participate in the technical review of chemicals stipulated in the 4th edition of the WHO Guidelines for Drinking-Water Quality, for the publication of the second addendum to the current edition.
PUB is also one of the two WHO Collaborating Centres for Water and Sanitation in the Western Pacific Region. There are a total of 14 WHO Collaborating Centres for Water and Sanitation worldwide.
