PM: Don't expect flood-free Singapore

Preventing widespread floods more realistic, he says
Jeremy Au Yong, Straits Times 28 Jun 10;

GIVEN Singapore's tropical climate, it will be very costly to keep the country flood-free, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong yesterday.

Speaking for the first time on the two flash floods this month, he noted that any attempt to wipe out flooding here would require plenty of money and land.

'If you are going to do that, you will need huge tracts of land put aside for huge monsoon drains, which will be empty most of the time, (and) the infrastructure will cost a lot of money and it is not worth it,' he said.

A more realistic objective, he added, is to prevent widespread and prolonged flooding, and limit the risk to lives and damage to property.

Mr Lee made the point while assuring Singaporeans that the Government 'will continue to implement new drainage works, to improve the design of the drainage systems and deal with more intense storms'.

'But I don't think it is possible in Singapore to expect the place to be completely free of floods,' he said, as heavy downpours are very much part of the climate for an 'island in the tropics'.

PM Lee was speaking at the opening of new facilities at Lower Seletar Reservoir that include a Rower's Bay for competitive rowing and a 170m bridge that gives panoramic views of the reservoir.

They were built under a programme known as ABC Waters (Active, Beautiful, Clean), to freshen up Singapore's reservoirs and rivers and turn them into recreation spaces.

The Prime Minister, in his speech, also stressed the need to have contingency plans for unusually heavy rain to ensure swift response in pinpointing the problem areas, dealing with them and 'putting them right'.

He was keen to make sure the recent floods that caused chaos and disruption in Orchard Road, Thomson Road, Bukit Timah and Tanjong Katong would not happen again.

'We have to learn from these episodes, do post-mortems, find out what happened, and upgrade our infrastructure and systems,' he said.

The flood that submerged parts of Orchard Road two weeks ago was the worst to hit the area in more than two decades.

It caused traffic chaos and millions in losses as several shops on the shopping belt were inundated with waist-high water.

The flood was blamed on a clogged drain in the area and record rainfall - 60 per cent of what normally falls in the entire month of June poured down in one morning.

A similar storm landed a week later, and this time it was areas such as Thomson Road, Bukit Timah and Tanjong Katong that saw rising waters which, however, subsided in 30 minutes.

The two incidents had many Singaporeans chiding national water agency, PUB .

Yesterday, PM Lee defended the agency's work, noting that floods were relatively rare occurrences in Singapore.

'PUB has ongoing drainage improvement programmes which, over the years, have made floods much rarer, and much less severe so much so that when it does happen, we are sometimes taken by surprise and we scramble to see how we can deal with those remaining problems,' he said.

PUB had admitted to being caught off-guard by the Orchard Road floods and has since taken several measures.

They include installing new gratings on drains upstream of Orchard Road to trap debris such as leaves and plastic bags and having its contractors clean big drains monthly instead of quarterly.

But ultimately, it is not just the PUB that has to take flood prevention measures, said Mr Lee.

'We all have parts to play, to keep our public places and our waterways clean.

'We must prevent litter from choking up our drains. Otherwise, the litter will find its ways into the canals, into the drains, into the reservoirs and pollute our water supply,' he said.

Singapore must learn from recent flooding episodes: PM Lee
Jeremy Koh Channel NewsAsia 27 Jun 10;

SINGAPORE: Singapore must learn from the recent flooding episodes and upgrade its infrastructure and systems, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

However, he added, it is also not realistic to expect the country to be completely free of floods.

And, individuals need to also take responsibility.

Mr Lee said this at the opening of the PUB's Active, Beautiful, Clean or ABC Waters project at Lower Seletar Reservoir.

After a S$10 million facelift under the ABC Waters programme, Lower Seletar Reservoir now has new facilities, among them, a 170m bridge which extends from the banks of the reservoir, allowing residents to venture over the water.

Children can also have fun at the new water play area and wading stream.

The ABC Waters programme is a long-term masterplan to transform Singapore's waterways and reservoirs into vibrant community spaces.

Visiting the revamped area on Sunday, Prime Minister Lee reminded Singaporeans to be responsible for the facilities even as they enjoy them.

He said: "We all have parts to play to keep public places and our waterways clean. We must prevent the litter from choking up our drains, otherwise the litter will find its way into the drains, into the canals, into the reservoirs and pollute our water supply."

Turning to the recent floods, Mr Lee said Singapore must learn from the episodes and upgrade its infrastructure and systems.

He said: "We will continue to implement new drainage works, improve the design of the drainage systems and to deal with more intense storms. But I don't think it's possible in Singapore to expect the place to be completely free of floods. Because if you're going to do that, you'll have to have huge tracts of land put aside for huge monsoon drains which will be empty most of the time, the land is tied up, the infrastructure will cost a lot of money."

So, Mr Lee said a more realistic objective is to prevent widespread and prolonged flooding and limit the risk to lives and damage to properties.

He added that contingency plans should be in place to ensure that if there's heavier rain than usual, the relevant agencies are able to respond quickly to deal with the problems.

- CNA/ir


PM: not realistic to expect Singapore to be flood-free
Business Times 28 Jun 10;

SINGAPORE must learn from the recent flooding episodes and upgrade its infrastructure and systems, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong yesterday.

However, it is also not realistic to expect the country to be completely free of floods, he said at the opening of the PUB's ABC Waters project at Lower Seletar Reservoir.

According to a ChannelNewsAsia report, he said: 'We will continue to implement new drainage works, improve the design of the drainage systems and to deal with more intense storms.

'But I don't think it's possible in Singapore to expect the place to be completely free of floods. Because if you're going to do that, you'll have to have huge tracts of land put aside for huge monsoon drains which will be empty most of the time, the land is tied up, the infrastructure will cost a lot of money.'

So, a more realistic objective is to prevent widespread and prolonged flooding and limit the risk to lives and damage to property, said PM Lee. He added that contingency plans should be in place to ensure that if there is heavier rain than usual, the relevant agencies are able to respond quickly to deal with the problems.

Heavy rainfall on June 16 caused massive floods at Orchard Road and millions of dollars of damage, while flash floods also hit Singapore last Friday and caused chaos on some roads. National water agency PUB had said that the Orchard Road flood and the impact and disruption to people, traffic and business was 'unacceptable'.

PM: We can't be flood-free but can limit impact
Jeremy Koh Today Online 28 Jun 10;

SINGAPORE - Singapore must learn from the recent flooding episodes and upgrade its infrastructure and systems, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

However, he added, it's also not realistic to expect the country to be completely free of floods. To do so would require huge tracts of land to be put aside for huge monsoon drains which will be empty most of the time.

"The land is tied up, the infrastructure will cost a lot of money, and it's not worth it," he said.

It is more realistic to prevent widespread and prolonged flooding, and limit the risk to lives and damage to property, he said.

"We have to have contingency plans so that if we have heavier rain than usual", the relevant agencies would be able to respond quickly to deal with the problems, Mr Lee said.

"PUB has an ongoing drainage improvement programme which over the years has made floods much rarer and much less severe," he said. "So much so that when it does happen, we're sometimes taken by surprise and we scramble to see how we can deal with those remaining problems."

Two weeks ago, a flash flood in Orchard Road - caused by a blocked canal that overflowed - caused millions of dollars in damages to shops, as traffic along the shopping belt came to a halt in knee-deep water.

Last Friday, heavy rain brought about flash floods in several areas again. Just like on June 16, 100mm of rain - 60 per cent of June's average rainfall - fell in a short span of time.

Singaporeans can do their part in keeping the waterways free, said PM Lee at the opening of the PUB's Active, Beautiful, Clean or ABC Waters project at Lower Seletar Reservoir yesterday.

"We all have parts to play to keep public places and our waterways clean. We must prevent the litter from choking up our drains, otherwise the litter will find its way into the drains, into the canals, into the reservoirs and pollute our water supply," he said.

After a $10-million facelift under the ABC Waters programme, Lower Seletar Reservoir now has new facilities, among them, a 170m bridge which extends from the banks of the reservoir, allowing residents to venture over the water.

The ABC Waters programme is a long-term plan to transform Singapore's waterways and reservoirs into vibrant community spaces. Jeremy Koh