I’ve always been under the common misapprehension that the Japanese cut off Singapore’s water supply when they captured the mainland source in Johore, which contributed to the British decsion to surrender.
Reading Percival’s memoir ‘The War in Malaya’, he says that there were three reservoirs on Singapore Island which had natural catchments and which, if the reservoirs and pumping stations remained in British hands, could sustain minimum military and civilian needs.
Scanning ahead, Percival doesn’t seem to go into detail about how the Japanese control of water led to surrender, but it seems that the loss of the Johore pipeline was unimportant while the loss of the Singapore reservoirs and, especially, the pumping stations determined the result.
Anyone got any more detailed information and maps to throw light on this?