by Grace Chua
THE PUB is spending $25,000 to install five debris-trap gratings
at Stamford Canal to prevent future floods. All five will be in
place by Friday.
Last week, massive floods hit the prime Orchard Road shopping
belt because of a clogged drain at the canal, which is meant to
clear water away from Orchard Road.
After the flood, the national water agency said it would install
more of these grates along Stamford Canal and step up maintenance
checks at the canal to once a month, from once every three to six
months.
The PUB is spending $150 million a year for the next five years
to upgrade drainage infrastructure, it said last week. Gratings are
placed in strategic areas picked by PUB engineers who model the
water flow in canals.
The five new zig-zag gratings, which catch debris without
stopping water flow, are in open drains (for easy maintenance) at
Camp Road, Napier Road near Minden Road, Nassim Road, Grange Road
and Tanglin Road.
They add to the Marina Reservoir catchment's 100 existing
gratings and 26 float booms (to catch flotsam) at the mouths of
canals.
