First site-specific study key to developing a flood resilient master plan to protect Singapore’s south-eastern coastlines from sea-level rise
Singapore’s national water agency PUB will be commencing a site-specific study along the republic’s City-East Coast, looking into possible solutions to protect it from the threat of rising seas caused by climate change. This marks the first of a series of planned studies for different parts of the country’s coastline to be progressively carried out over the next few years, and are a key plank in Singapore’s long-term coastal protection plans.
The study covers 57.8km of the coastline, across three areas – Changi, the East Coast-Marina stretch, and part of the Greater Southern Waterfront district. This section of the coastline had been identified to be more vulnerable and critical based on factors such as the potential impact of a flood event, critically of assets and opportunities to dovetail with upcoming developments.
The study is expected to take about four years to complete, and will include work such as literature review to glean international best practices, collecting site data to support design works, formulating adaption measures and pathways, and developing the designs of solutions to mitigate flood risks.
Hazel Khoo, director of PUB’s coastal protection department, commented: “When PUB was appointed national coastal protection agency in April last year, this study was earmarked as a significant milestone in our mission to prepare Singapore for the impacts of sea-level rise. But this is just the beginning – the real challenge is to develop solutions that are flexible and adaptive to climate change uncertainties, to safeguard our island and people from flooding risks while ensuring our coastlines remain liveable.
“This is also an opportunity for us to explore a combination of both engineering and nature-based solutions with innovative designs to better integrate with local development and land-use plans. This will allow us to potentially enhance the living environment and create new recreational spaces with multi-functional uses for the community like what was done at Marina Reservior.”
Having divided Singapore’s coastline into different segments, PUB will adopt a phased approach to progressively roll out studies and develop protection measures for the respective segments of the coastline. Studies to protect Jurong Island and the North-West coast, comprising Sungei Kadut and Lim Chu Kang, will commence later this year and in 2022 respectively.
The City-East Coast study will be undertaken by CPG Consultants, a subsidiary of CPG Corporation. PUB pointed out CPG possesses knowledge in drainage design and master planning, and executed projects such as the development of drainage masterplans with flood mitigation measures for a number of waterways in Singapore, and engineering consultancy services for the Stamford Diversion Canal, which – in tandem with the Stamford Detection Tank – enhances flood protection in the Orchard Road area. To augment its knowledge and capabilities in coastal protection and computer modelling, CPG will be partnering with Royal HaskoningDHV, a consultancy firm headquartered in the Netherlands that specialises in coastal engineering, as well as water management solutions provider Hydroinformatics Institute (H2i).
