Bukit Batok gets a green touch with ABC Waters

Featuring four rain gardens, timber seats and greenery along the canal, ABC Waters @ Bukit Batok Canal was officially opened on Saturday (Feb 20).
Channel NewsAsia 20 Feb 16;

SINGAPORE: Bukit Batok residents now have a "green corridor" for them to hang out, after a 230-metre-long section of the canal along Bukit Batok West Avenue 2 and 4 was given a facelift.

Officially opened on Saturday (Feb 20), Active, Beautiful, Clean Waters (ABC Waters) @ Bukit Batok Canal took just over a year to complete. The project, which cost S$400,000 to complete, was part of a programme by PUB to enhance Singapore’s water bodies.

With the facelift, the formerly bare canal now has flowers and plants lining its walls. The canal also features timber seats, as well as four rain gardens that cleanse rainwater runoff before it is discharged into the canal to help improve water quality and enhance biodiversity in the area, said PUB.

“ABC Waters has creatively turned a stretch of the Bukit Batok Canal into a 'mini' green corridor with lush plantings that enhance and add value to our living environment," said Guest-of-Honour Dr Amy Khor, Senior Minister of State for Environment and Water Resources & Health, at the opening.

"By tapping on the spaces next to and around the canal, residents can now hang out with their families and neighbours by the waterway, while learning about rainwater runoff, water quality and biodiversity at the rain gardens,” added Dr Khor, who is also adviser to Hong Kah North Grassroots Organisations.

- CNA/av/dl


Rain gardens, lush plantings at redeveloped stretch of Bukit Batok Canal
Today Online 20 Feb 16;

SINGAPORE – Rain gardens, timber seats and an array of flowers and plants are now part of a redeveloped stretch of Bukit Batok Canal.

After over a year of redevelopment, the 230m-long section the canal along Bukit Batok West Avenue 2 and 4 was officially opened on Saturday (Feb 20) by Senior Minister of State (Environment and Water Resources) Amy Khor.

Other than flowers and plants along the walls of the canal, the area also has four rain gardens that will help cleanse rainwater runoff before it is discharged into the canal. This will help to improve water quality, enhance aesthetics and enliven biodiversity in the area, said the PUB in a press release on Saturday.

The redevelopment was announced in January last year.

Dr Khor, who is also the adviser to Hong Kah North grassroots organisations, said: “ABC Waters has creatively turned a stretch of the Bukit Batok Canal into a “mini” green corridor with lush plantings that enhance and add value to our living environment. By tapping on the spaces next to and around the canal, residents can now hang out with their families and neighbours by the waterway, while learning about rainwater runoff, water quality and biodiversity at the rain gardens.”

PUB’s Chief Sustainability Officer Tan Nguan Sen added: “As the community gathers at this new community focal point and enjoys the transformed waterscape, we hope they can also value our waters and help keep our waterways free from litter.”

The facelift is part of PUB’s ABC Waters Programme, launched in 2006 to transform Singapore’s water bodies into beautiful and clean streams, rivers and lakes. More than 100 potential locations have been identified for implementation by 2030. To date, 32 ABC Waters projects have been completed.