A couples of weeks ago, Monte (my husband) and I visited the spanking new Marina Barrage. We had such a relaxing time there. There are many places we can explore all throughout Singapore. It is a tiny and dynamic garden city.The following is an article from Valerie Chew of the National Library Board Singapore concerning the Marina Barrage.
“Marina Barrage is a government-commissioned dam built across the mouth of Marina Channel to create Singapore's 15th reservoir, Marina Reservoir. Officially opened on 31 October 2008, it separates the water in Marina Basin from the seawater. It has been considered an engineering marvel because of its magnitude and complexity, and it was the subject of an August 2008 episode of Discovery Channel's Man Made Marvels Asia. The barrage is dubbed a three-in-one project as it serves three objectives: create a new source of water supply, act as a tool for flood control, and provide a new lifestyle attraction.
History
By 1987, the government had successfully completed its ten-year drive to clean up Singapore River and Kallang River. It was at this time that then prime minister Lee Kuan Yew, now minister mentor, mooted the idea of damming up Marina Basin to create a large freshwater lake. However, this was not yet feasible with the existing technology. It was only in 2004 that the government set the wheels in motion by calling a tender for the project. The contract was awarded to local contractor Koh Brothers and construction began in early 2005.
Description
The barrage works using a system comprising gates and pumps. It has nine 27m-wide and 5m-high steel crest gates spanning the 350m-wide Marina Channel, and seven drainage pumps capable of displacing a combined total of 280 cubic metres of water per second. Each gate weighs 70 tonnes and each pump 28 tonnes.
Under normal conditions, the hydraulically-operated gates will be closed. When there is heavy rain but the tide is low, the gates will open to release excess water into the sea. When heavy rain coincides with high tide, the gates will remain closed while the pumps will be activated to pump the excess water out to sea.
With this system, the barrage alleviates flooding in low-lying areas in the city, including Chinatown, Jalan Besar and Geylang. It also keeps the reservoir's water level constant, thereby making it suitable for water-based activities such as sailing, windsurfing, canoeing and dragonboating.
Visitors to the barrage can take a scenic walk on Marina Bridge, a pedestrian bridge that sits atop the nine crest gates and connects Marina South to Marina East. At the Marina South end of the bridge is the Visitor Centre, which has been designed to look like a seashell from the top. This two-storey building houses the pumping station, some food and beverage outlets, and the Sustainable Singapore Gallery. The gallery showcases Singapore's efforts towards achieving environmental sustainability and aims to educate the public on major environmental and water issues.
The roof of the Visitor Centre is completely covered with grass, hence its name, the Green Roof. It serves as a viewing deck and a venue for private functions and recreational activities such as picnics. It also doubles up as an insulation layer, lowering the building's indoor temperature and reducing its air-conditioning requirements. Singapore's largest solar park, measuring 1,200 square metres, is located here too. The 405-panel solar park converts solar energy into electricity to supplement the daytime power requirements of the barrage.”
http://infopedia.nl.sg/articles/SIP_1387_2008-11-22.html
Description
The barrage works using a system comprising gates and pumps. It has nine 27m-wide and 5m-high steel crest gates spanning the 350m-wide Marina Channel, and seven drainage pumps capable of displacing a combined total of 280 cubic metres of water per second. Each gate weighs 70 tonnes and each pump 28 tonnes.
Under normal conditions, the hydraulically-operated gates will be closed. When there is heavy rain but the tide is low, the gates will open to release excess water into the sea. When heavy rain coincides with high tide, the gates will remain closed while the pumps will be activated to pump the excess water out to sea.
With this system, the barrage alleviates flooding in low-lying areas in the city, including Chinatown, Jalan Besar and Geylang. It also keeps the reservoir's water level constant, thereby making it suitable for water-based activities such as sailing, windsurfing, canoeing and dragonboating.
Visitors to the barrage can take a scenic walk on Marina Bridge, a pedestrian bridge that sits atop the nine crest gates and connects Marina South to Marina East. At the Marina South end of the bridge is the Visitor Centre, which has been designed to look like a seashell from the top. This two-storey building houses the pumping station, some food and beverage outlets, and the Sustainable Singapore Gallery. The gallery showcases Singapore's efforts towards achieving environmental sustainability and aims to educate the public on major environmental and water issues.
The roof of the Visitor Centre is completely covered with grass, hence its name, the Green Roof. It serves as a viewing deck and a venue for private functions and recreational activities such as picnics. It also doubles up as an insulation layer, lowering the building's indoor temperature and reducing its air-conditioning requirements. Singapore's largest solar park, measuring 1,200 square metres, is located here too. The 405-panel solar park converts solar energy into electricity to supplement the daytime power requirements of the barrage.”
http://infopedia.nl.sg/articles/SIP_1387_2008-11-22.html
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