To help Singapore manage the 100 inches of rain the country receives each year, CDM designed a complex, low-level dam—a barrage—that reliably accommodates excess precipitation, provides flood control, enhances water supply and water quality, and creates lifestyle and recreational opportunities for Singapore's urban center.
The 1,000-foot-long (305-meter-long) Marina Barrage includes nine 88-foot-long (26.8-meter-long) hydraulically operated steel crest gates and a pumping station capable of pumping 6.3 billion gallons per day. Under normal conditions, the gates will remain closed to isolate the reservoir from the ocean. However, during extreme storm events when the tide is low, they will operate in harmony to release excess flows from the marina. When the tide is high, an enormous pumping station capable of pumping up to 6.3 billion gallons per day (280 cubic meters per second) will operate. Regardless of storm flows and tide levels, the barrage and pumping station will alternate to provide stable water levels in a new 500-acre (202-hectare) freshwater reservoir within downtown Singapore.
Additional facilities include a 13-megawatt power station and a two-story interactive visitor center complete with a circular glass theater, all located in an open national park with no fences or gates. Due to the project's natural setting and
emphasis on user friendliness, the design team sought a careful balance between form and function. The roof of the pumping station, visitor center, and power station will be covered with turf grass and accessible to the public via two concentric helical ramps. Visitors will be able to walk from the park, around the facility, and up the ramps to take in dramatic views from the roof, and then across the barrage. The state-of-the-art visitor center will showcase Singapore's significant environmental accomplishments, offering films, exhibits, and even refreshments.
When complete in early 2008, Marina Barrage will help this island nation greatly reduce flooding and benefit residents with multiple engineering and architectural features that will support numerous development and recreational opportunities.
In recognition for this landmark project, the Singapore Public Utilities Board has received the 2007 Asean Outstanding Engineering Achievement Award and garnered the 2007 Stockholm Industry Water Award for a "holistic approach to water resources management."
Read more about Singapore's Marina Barrage (PDF).