Marina Barrage and other flood alleviation schemes

[zhihau]

I didn't "mention" anything. All I've done is copy and paste historic articles which shed some light regarding how Singapore has ended up as floodopoor.

i offer my most sincere apologies

 

[Singapaporean]

Dr Amy Khor said it was working well. Otherwise, other areas in Singapore might have flooded too

wonder what Dr Khor will say now?

 

[scroobal]

Agree. I am just surprised that they are prepared to prostitute to this extent.

I think Mr Lee is what is sometimes known as a 'useful idiot', i.e., academics in the pay of the regime to lend itself credibility. They are like the analysts paid by the banks to say nice things about them.

 

[Dinkley]

What has these got to do with a quitter Australian?

He is not a quitter Australian, he is a smart one. If I had enough money, I will have migrated to Oz after reading so many kind Samsters' advices.

 

[Leongsam]

He is not a quitter Australian, he is a smart one. If I had enough money, I will have migrated to Oz after reading so many kind Samsters' advices.

"Advice" is a non countable noun; you do not add an "s" to make it plural.

"Advice" is like "Rice". You say... "Please pass me the Rice." You don't say "Please pass me the rices" because "Rice", like "advice", is a non countable noun.

There are many other examples. To test your knowledge of non countable nouns, go to English Language Quiz - Countable or Non-countable Nouns (I-TESL-J) and take the test.

 

[Leongsam]

Bear in mind the rainfall is not the highest recorded by any stretch. Full reservoirs have been on the cards for sometime. The "Orchard River" is a new phenomenon and as a matter of elimination one can reasonably make some assumptions.

I've lived through many a "once every 50 year" deluge. Even when Sinkieland was nothing more than fishing village and trading post and LKY had just reached puberty, I cannot recall Orchard Road ever flooding. It was always Adam Road, Bukit Timah, parts of Bradell Road, Upper Thomson etc.

Telok Kurau Road was my playground for 10 years and I never rode my tricycle through more than 2 inches of water in the worst of rainstorms.

The scholar engineers at PUB and the MND have messed up big time. The storm water drains may have got bigger and bigger over the years but so too has the amount of water they have to cope with.

Open fields used to allow water to seep down to the water table. Absorbent ground hardly exists anymore. It's all non porous concrete. LKY, in his infinite wisdom fueled by a hefty dose of paranoia caused by his unfriendly neighbours, has been ordering his minions to construct a system to capture every droplet of water that lands on the Island from the heavens above. He's been going on about being self sufficient in water for pretty much the last 20 years!

Well guess what, when it rains very hard, the catchment system simply can't cope. It's working too well and the water has nowhere to go except into basement carparks and Starbucks. It doesn't take a scholar to figure that out. The sad part is that nobody had the balls to tell him so. The end result is there for all to see... and wade through on a regular basis.

In OZ/NZ, council regulations mandate that at a fixed percentage of every section must remain porous for this very reason. Does a similar requirement exist in floodypoor? I'd be interested to know the answer.

 

[Dinkley]

"Advice" is a non countable noun; you do not add an "s" to make it plural.

"Advice" is like "Rice". You say... "Please pass me the Rice." You don't say "Please pass me the rices" because "Rice", like "advice", is a non countable noun.

There are many other examples. To test your knowledge of non countable nouns, go to English Language Quiz - Countable or Non-countable Nouns (I-TESL-J) and take the test.

Thanks for pointing out my grammatical errors. Useful when moving to English-speaking countries.

Btw, pardon this kaypoh newbie here, but which part of OZ are you currently living in? :p

 

[Leongsam]

Btw, pardon this kaypoh newbie here, but which part of OZ are you currently living in? =:p

I live in a rented room in Toa Payoh. My landlord is very good to me.

 

[Tiu Kwang Yew]

this time boss leongsam really impressive !

if he comes to tanjong pagar GRC and contest---we vote for him....hahahaha.

so many people still donch understand Advice and Advise, countable and uncountable.

luckily got leong sam !

yeah hor, does not mean you live somewhere else rather than sinkapore is quitter right !

 

[Ramseth]

Telok Kurau Road was my playground for 10 years and I never road my bike through more than 2 inches of water in the worst of rainstorms.

You ride on a road. The past tense of ride is rode.

You should take a course for Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) to improve beyond advice versus advise and lose versus loose.

 

[Dinkley]

I live in a rented room in Toa Payoh. My landlord is very good to me.

Never knew that there is a town called Toa Payoh in Australia.

 

[Leongsam]

You ride on a road. The past tense of ride is rode.

You should take a course for Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) to improve beyond advice versus advise and lose versus loose.

Corrected. The message is still a work in progress. Please proof read when I'm done.

 

[Leongsam]

Is this law still in force?

http://politics.sgforums.com/forums/10/topics/30978#post_544730
It was recently published in the Straits Times that it will be ILLEGAL for Singaporeans to collect RAINWATER for the purpose of washing cars, gardening, and washing.

The reason given was that any Private actions in collecting rainwater will deprive that amount from the National Pool that can put all rainwater to more effective use.

It was not mentioned in the Straits Times report if the law is effective immediately, or if it is soon to be introduced for debate prior to legislation.

Is this another draconian heavy handed Governmental approach in preventing even the Private use of God's gift to All Man?

Is this a Reasonable and Logical Demand to the ever-obedient Singaporean Citizens to supposed National Priorities?

Or is this an Unreasonable Demand to prevent Singaporeans from having any easy access to FREE water from heaven, and make everyone pay for the SKY JUICE that would have been free even to the Water Department?

 

[Leongsam]

Don't mess with nature! It'll come back to bite you.

List of rivers of Singapore

<!-- /firstHeading --> <!-- bodyContent --> <!-- tagline --> From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

<!-- /tagline --> <!-- subtitle --> <!-- /subtitle --> <!-- jumpto --> Jump to: navigation, search
<!-- /jumpto --> <!-- bodytext --> The geographically small island nation of Singapore has few rivers of significant length or width, the longest of which, the Kallang River is only 10 km in length. The Singapore River, arguably the most famous in the country, is of insignificant length as well. However, the country's tropical climate and heavy rainfall require a very comprehensive network of natural draining systems, much of which has become concrete system as urbanisation spread across the island.
<table id="toc" class="toc"> <tbody><tr> <td> Contents

[hide]

• 1 Natural rivers
  • 1.1 Canalised
  • 1.2 On offshore islands
    • 1.2.1 Pulau Tekong
    • 1.2.2 Pulau Ubin
• 2 Former rivers
  • 2.1 Dammed and flooded

</td> </tr> </tbody></table> <script type="text/javascript"> //<![CDATA[ if (window.showTocToggle) { var tocShowText = "show"; var tocHideText = "hide"; showTocToggle(); } //]]> </script> [edit] Natural rivers

[edit] Canalised

• Alexandra Canal, Singapore
• Geylang River
• Pelton Canal
• Rochor Canal
• Rochor River
• Siglap Canal
• Singapore River
• Stamford Canal, Singapore
• Sungei Bedok
• Sungei China
• Sungei Ketapang
• Sungei Lanchar
• Sungei Pandan (lower reaches dammed as Pandan Reservoir)
• Sungei Pinang (Hougang)
• Sungei Punggol
• Sungei Seletar Simpang Kiri
• Sungei Sembawang
• Sungei Serangoon
• Sungei Simpang Kanan
• Sungei Tampines
• Sungei Ulu Pandan
• Sungei Whompoe

 

[Glaringly]

Is this law still in force?

Ha, din know that there is such a ridiculous law?

So, it's like saying if you are caught in a rain soaking wet, will you be charge with illegal collection of water, otherwise do you have to remove all your clothes including underwear and squeeze out the water on the spot?

In anycase, isn't washing the cars returns the water back to the longkang?

 

[Leongsam]

Ha, din know that there is such a ridiculous law?

Somebody has created a monster and it's out of control. My theory is that there has been a gross miscalculation when doing the sums. The concept of capturing all available rainwater is commendable. Executing the plan is another ballgame altogether. Everything is via computer modeling and all it takes is to forget or miscalculate one variable and the result can be catastrophic. That's what caused the Hotel New World collapse.

In the good old days, I used to believe that a country didn't have to be democratic in order to do a top notch job when it came to infrastructure.

However, events over the last decade or so have made me lose much of my misplaced faith in Singapore Inc. The MRT tunneling collapse, Silk Air and SIA disasters, the escape of Mas Selamat etc have lead me to believe that behind the shiny facade, fancy makeovers and slick power point presentations lies a rot so deep that it will take a generation or more to fix.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hotel_New_World_disaster

An inquiry investigating the cause of the accident tested for many potential causes. Surviving sections of concrete were tested to ensure they were to proper construction standards, and it was found that they were. Even the construction work of the underground railway tunnelers who had assisted in the rescue was investigated, even though the excavations were more than 100 yards from the collapsed building. It was found they had no effect on the building's stability.


Also investigated were the various additions made to the building after its initial construction. Air conditioning systems had been constructed on the roof of the building, the bank had added a large safe, and ceramic tiles had been fixed to the building's exterior, all adding considerably to the building's weight.


It was found that the weight of these additions was inconsequential; however this line of investigation led to the discovery that the original structural engineer had made a serious error in calculating the building's dead load, the weight of the building itself. The structural engineer had calculated the building's live load, the weight of the building's potential inhabitants, furniture, fixtures and fittings. However the building's dead load was completely omitted from the calculation. This meant that the building as constructed could not support its own weight. Collapsing was only a matter of time and after the three different supporting columns had failed in the days before the disaster, the other columns, which took on the added weight no longer supported by the failed columns, could not support the building.

 

[HTOLAS]

There have been quite a few floods in Orchard Rd. In November 1976, I was traveling by bus through Orchard Rd to school when it got caught in a major flood. The passengers were told to alight and I made my way onto the then newly constructed pedestrian mall. Orchard Rd itself was a river. I got to school just in time for dismissal that day.

I've lived through many a "once every 50 year" deluge. Even when Sinkieland was nothing more than fishing village and trading post and LKY had just reached puberty, I cannot recall Orchard Road ever flooding.

 

[soikee]

However, events over the last decade or so have made me lose much of my misplaced faith in Singapore Inc. The MRT tunneling collapse, Silk Air and SIA disasters, the escape of Mas Selamat etc have lead me to believe that behind the shiny facade, fancy makeovers and slick power point presentations lies are a rot so deep that it will take a generation or more to fix.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hotel_New_World_disaster

Boss, past participle of lead is led leh.

Don'ch mind hor.

 

[Microsoft]

Is this law still in force?

Maybe not...

PUB relaxes rule on rainwater collection

Previously, the private collection of rainwater required approval under the original Sewerage and Drainage Act enforced by the Public Utilities Board (PUB), which stated that “no person shall, without approval from PUB, construct any works for taking or intercepting water from any place or sea, within the territorial limits of Singapore”.

The rationale for this ruling was that water is a precious resource in land-scarce Singapore, and hence a strategic national resource. The guiding principle was that rainwater collection had to be managed at a national level to ensure that water is effectively collected and properly managed. PUB has a system for collecting rainwater in many Housing and Development Board estates and private housing estates efficiently.

Consequently, the construction of private water collection systems within the water catchments would not be in line with the above principle. These systems could intercept rainwater that would otherwise be stored in our reservoirs to provide a buffer against drought.

Relaxing the rule
The issue of restriction against the private collection of rainwater was first brought up by some participants of the third Networked Government Forum on “Deregulating Singapore”. It was suggested that the public should be allowed to collect rainwater freely, without the need for government regulations, to promote water conservation.

PUB decided to conduct an internal review to examine the issue more closely and found that the amount of water that could potentially be channelled away was just about 1% of total demand. Hence PUB decided to allow private rainwater collection with immediate effect as that was unlikely to significantly deplete Singapore’s scarce water resource.

Moving forward
The process of changing the ruling was kicked off by a suggestion during an intra-governmental forum. This is in contrast to most cases where government agencies rely on public feedback to identify rules that
need revision.

Internally generated processes are important because they send strong signals to the public that the Government is proactively identifying and evaluating outdated or irrelevant rules.


By Cut Bureaucracy Committee Secretariat

http://www.ps21.gov.sg/challenge/2005_10/work/pub.html

 

[scroobal]

Excellent. Its indeed working too well. It started in the late 70s with Bedok Reservoir and the entire Bedok Housing estate where surface water was captured in its entirety. They did it again with Marina Barrage and it could not cope. Don't be surprised that the water level is brought down permanently by a couple of feet.

Looks like any law with porous requirement must have been done away with.

Imagine a PM that can tell with a straight face that it is a flash flood with rainfall not even hitting the highest category zone. It certainly not leadership.

Well guess what, when it rains very hard, the catchment system simply can't cope. It's working too well and the water has nowhere to go except into basement carparks and Starbucks. It doesn't take a scholar to figure that out. The sad part is that nobody had the balls to tell him so. The end result is there for all to see... and wade through on a regular basis.

In OZ/NZ, council regulations mandate that at a fixed percentage of every section must remain porous for this very reason. Does a similar requirement exist in floodypoor? I'd be interested to know the answer.