Hey Bill Gates! Singapore was first with the idea of recycling waste water!

In one of the recent episodes on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Bill Gates dared Jimmy Fallon to drink sewage water that was treated and made drinkable.

The former Microsoft boss and one of the world's richest persons explained that engineers were asked to design a cost effective method of treating water so that the people in need of clean water can get it.

While we applaud the sincerity to help the ones in need, we Singaporeans would like to say "Been there, done that!"

NEWater is pretty much the same thing, except that we came up with it in 2000!

That's 15 years ago!

According to Singapore's Public Utilities Board, the plan for NEWater was drawn up in 1972. The pilot plant was built in 1974 but had to be halted as the technology was not advanced enough. The technology was made available only in in 1998, which led to the first NEWater plant being completed in 2000. 

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The processes might be different but it's sewage water being treated so that it can be drinkable.

Here's a comparison of Mr Gates' Janicki Omniprocessor and Singapore's NEWater: 

Janicki Omniprocessor

Singapore's NEWater

Sources: The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Business Insider, YouTube, PUB