By Hoe Yeen Nie | Posted:
30 January 2012 1320 hrs
SINGAPORE: Over the next five years, water agency
PUB will be spending S$750 million to improve the capacity of
Singapore's drains by 30 to 40 per cent.
More resources will be put into retaining rainfall upstream to
reduce the speed at which water flows into the drains.
Earlier this month, a panel of experts had recommended better ways
to deal with increasingly intense rainfall.
On Monday, PUB said it has accepted these recommendations and laid
out a comprehensive plan to tackle the problem.
This includes setting aside S$750 million to increase drainage
capacity particularly at six major canals such as Geylang River and
Rochor Canal.
More importantly, there will be measures such as water retention
ponds and rooftop tanks to contain water in localised areas.
PUB will also come up with new flood protection guidelines for
buildings within a year.
It said this approach is in recognition that Singapore has to move
beyond widening drains and building flood barriers to resolve its
flood problem.
One reason is that with land being a premium, there is a limit as
to how much can be set aside for drains.
The panel also recommended better data. The PUB said it will be
piloting a system over the next two years to better forecast where
and when floods will occur.
They will be getting information on rainfall from the
Metereological Service and data from their own canal sensors. PUB
is not, at this point, able to say how much advance warning it can
give but it said that even a few minutes will be helpful to the
public.
As for Stamford Canal, in the immediate term, PUB will be coating
its walls with a polymer lining to reduce friction and increase
water speed. It will also remove the sewer and Newater pipes that
are placed inside the canal to allow the canal to hold more
water.
These measures will raise capacity by about 10 per cent but in the
long-term, measures such as a detention pond and diversionary
canals are being studied.
- CNA
