The Marina Barrage is a dam that will be built across the Marina Channel, forming Singapore’s first reservoir in the city. The 15^th reservoir, Marina Reservoir, will have the largest and most urbanised catchment at 10,000 hectares or one-sixth the size of Singapore.

 

The Marina Barrage is the result of Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew’s vision nearly two decades ago when he envisaged damming the mouth of Marina Channel to create a freshwater reservoir.

 

The barrage, which comprises of a series of nine crest gates, will be built across the 350 m wide Marina Channel to keep out seawater. With the barrage in place, the Marina Basin will turn into a body of freshwater through natural flushing in one to two years, similar to the Kranji and Lower Seletar Reservoir schemes. The freshwater will then be treated using advanced membrane technology. This ensures that water is safe for drinking.

 

Local water catchment area will be increased to two-thirds by 2011 when Marina, Punggol & Serangoon Reservoirs are completed. Water from local catchment is one of the Four National Taps, with the other three being imported water, NEWater and desalinated water.

 

The Marina Barrage is also part of a comprehensive flood control scheme to alleviate flooding in the low-lying areas in the city such as Chinatown, Boat Quay, Jalan Besar and Geylang.

 

Once the barrage is constructed, it will separate the reservoir from the sea. During heavy rain, the steel gates will be opened to release excess storm water into the sea when the tide is low. However, when it is not possible to do so during high tide, drainage pumps capable of pumping up to 280 cubic meters per second will pump out excess storm water into the sea. With the barrage in place, these pockets of low-lying areas in the city will no longer be prone to flooding.

 

As the water in the Marina Basin will be unaffected by the tides, its water level will be kept constant all year round. This will make it an ideal venue for all kinds of recreational activities such as boating, windsurfing and water-skiing. Colourful water-based performances, thrilling water sports competitions and pleasure craft plying between waterfront attractions will bring an attractive lifestyle experience for all to enjoy.

 

The Marina Barrage project is the proud winner of the ASEAN Outstanding Engineering Achievement Award.