PUB to build diversion canal to protect Orchard Road belt from floods

The Stamford Canal at the junction of the Orchard and Killiney Roads. The new diversion canal will connect the upstream section of Stamford Canal to the Singapore River. -- PHOTO: ST FILE
The Stamford Canal at the junction of the Orchard and Killiney Roads. The new diversion canal will connect the upstream section of Stamford Canal to the Singapore River. -- PHOTO: ST FILE

SINGAPORE - National Water Agency PUB will begin to build the Stamford Diversion Canal in the third quarter of the year, as part of a plan to strengthen flood protection for the Orchard Road shopping belt.

The new diversion canal will connect the upstream section of Stamford Canal, which covers Orchard Road, to the Singapore River. On completion, water collected from the upstream catchment section of the Stamford Canal will flow into the new diversion canal towards Singapore River and then into Marina Reservoir.

At 2km long, the new diversion canal will run from Tanglin Road along Grange Road to the Singapore River. It will pass by Hoot Kiam Road, Irwell Bank Road, and Kim Seng Road. Work on the entire diversion canal is expected to be completed by 2017.

Mr Tan Nguan Sen, PUB's director of catchment and waterways, said these measures are to help Singapore cope with more intense rainfall.

PUB is also constructing a detention tank to improve flood protection for the Stamford Canal catchment.

The tank at the junction of Tyersall Avenue and Tyersall Road will have a storage capacity of about 15 Olympic-sized swimming pools.

When it is completed in 2016, it will then be able to store excess rainwater from drains along Holland Road. Once the rain subsides, the water will be pumped back to the drains for discharge into Marina Reservoir.

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