A busy year for MEWR, NEA and PUB
Speech by Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, Minister for the Environment and Water Resources, Committee of Supply Debate, 11 March 2014 (Section A)
Date Published: 11 Mar 2014
1. Mdm Chair, my colleagues in NEA, PUB and MEWR have had a very busy year. In the space of 12 months, we have had to confront the worst haze episode ever; the worst dengue outbreak ever; we still had a couple of localised flash floods to deal with, and now we have the most prolonged dry spell ever. February has been the driest month on record and also the windiest month on record. We seem to be bent on breaking new records all the time.
It is not possible to predict the future. But we must evolve, and cope with the consequences of future megatrends, e.g. climate change, extreme storms, extended droughts, water scarcity, land scarcity, energy costs, resource scarcity and food production
PUB recently announced new measures to increase flood protection at upstream areas of the Stamford Canal catchment area, including Orchard Road.The new measures include the construction of a new diversion canal to divert stormwater from about 240 hectares, or 38%, of the Stamford Canal catchment to Singapore River. Complementing the diversion canal is a detention tank which will be built to capture excess stormwater from the existing drains along Holland Road. These measures will enhance drainage capacity for this upstream area and protect it against potentially more intense storms in the future.
Enhancing Flood Protection in Singapore
I am grateful to everyone who has responded with many fascinating ideas and proposals for enhancing flood protection in Singapore over the past week. I believe that Singaporeans expect and deserve better flood protection. However, we must proceed in a proactive, careful and comprehensive way based on best available scientific evidence. We must also take advantage of innovative new technology and engineering solutions.
Appointment of Expert Panel to assist in formulating long term plans
Focus on Floods – 5 key questions
I was woken up by thunder at 6:30 AM this morning. It soon became obvious that it would be a busy day. I couldn’t turn right from Farrer Road to Bukit Timah Road due to the flood and another car was stuck in front. I had to take a detour over the Lornie Road flyover and PIE to ultimately reach the MEWR Building.
When I arrived at the PUB Ops Room, they told me that the storm was even worse than last year, and there were floods in MacPherson, Balestier, Bukit Timah and Tanglin areas. In one morning, a 124 mm of rain had fallen in the central areas of Singapore – this is almost 80% of the usual rainfall for the whole month of June. In fact, more than half of the total, 65 mm, had fallen within half an hour.