Purpose
The S$226 million project turns Marina Bay and Kallang Basin into a new downtown freshwater Marina Reservoir. It provides water supply, flood control and a new lifestyle attraction.
By keeping out seawater, the barrage forms Singapore’s 15th reservoir and first reservoir in the city. Marina Reservoir, together with the future Punggol and Serangoon reservoirs, will increase Singapore’s water catchment areas from half to two-thirds of Singapore’s total land area.
Marina Barrage also acts as a tidal barrier to keep seawater out, helping to alleviate flooding in low lying areas of the city such as Chinatown, Jalan Besar and Geylang.
When it rains heavily during low-tide, the barrage’s crest gates will be lowered to release excess water from the reservoir into the sea. If heavy rain falls during high-tide, the crest gates remain closed and giant drainage pumps are activated to pump excess water out to sea.
As the water in the Marina Basin is unaffected by the tides, the water level will be kept constant, making it ideal for all kinds of recreational activities such as boating, windsurfing, kayaking and dragonboating etc.
Read more about this topic: Marina Barrage
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