Coastal Protection Strategy Team launched to improve Singapore’s flood resiliency
Aerial view of Singapore’s bodies of water. Photo by Mark Stoop on Unsplash
April 2022 – Considering its low-lying geography, Singapore is particularly vulnerable to climate change. The Centre for Climate Research Singapore has projected that the island city-state could experience an increase in daily mean temperature of 1.4–4.6 degrees Celsius towards the end of this century and a mean sea level rise of up to 1 metre by 2100. There have been more intense and frequent heavy rainfall events in Singapore, causing major flooding around the island.
The next step in the plan to improve Singapore’s flood resiliency is to form a team to devise holistic coastal protection and sustainability strategies for the built environment. CPG Consultants (CPG) has announced that it is forming The Coastal Protection Strategy Team as part of CPG’s Civil and Structural Engineering Division, drawing from their experience in environmental engineering for recent water-related projects.
“We sharpen our focus on defining innovative solutions and developing toolkits to weather through rising sea levels and heavy rainfall,” said Yeang Hoong Goon, CEO of CPG.
As part of Singapore’s National Water Agency PUB’s holistic storm water management strategy, CPG has designed and constructed the Stamford Detention Tank (SDT) and Stamford Diversion Canal (SDC). These major drainage projects have the goal of improving storm water flow and reducing flood risk for the Orchard Road area.
During the four-year construction phase, these two measures have helped to safeguard the area by detaining, delaying and diverting storm run-off before it can do serious harm. The SDT temporarily stores storm water from Holland Road’s drains and pumps the water into drains leading to SDC. This integrated solution has relieved the drainage of 38,000 cubic metres or equivalent to 15 Olympic-sized swimming pools of storm water during heavy rainfalls.
Last year, PUB announced the commencement of a site-specific study along Singapore’s Southeast Coast, which was a significant step for Singapore’s long-term coastal protection plans.
Speaking on the background of the study, Lee Adam Harryman, Senior Vice-President of the Civil and Structural Engineering Division and who leads CPG’s Coastal Protection Strategy Team, explains that while climate change has a global impact, it affects different regions in different ways. They are currently conducting more research to contextualise Singapore in order to create adaptation plans that are applicable to the island nation.
To read more about coastal protection strategies, check out our story in FuturArc 2Q 2021 on the digital edition or order the print copy from our shop!
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