Singapore - Better storm data needed to prevent floods

Making Singapore less flood-prone is not simply a matter of building bigger canals.

The Government needs to study weather patterns and collect better information about rain--before it falls, and even as it is falling.

It should then use this data to design canals that can better handle the occurrence of freak storms.

These are among the first recommendations made by a panel of local and international experts set up in June to look into recent floods.

"It's no longer enough to just think about canals and drains in terms of how much water they can hold," said the chairman of the panel, Professor Chan Eng Soon, at a press conference to announce its findings yesterday.

"We need data so we can use computer models to test different types of storm patterns."

The collection of better data would involve the installation of equipment such as rainfall radar, flow meters, rain gauges and water sensors, added Chan, who is the dean of the engineering faculty at the National University of Singapore.

This is necessary because rainfall patterns seem to have changed. The panel said there is evidence that the maximum intensities have increased over the past 30 years.

Such data would let engineers decide whether future canals and drains can handle freak storm patterns such as the rain that flooded Orchard Road in June last year, Chan said.

That storm had come in two short but intense bursts, overwhelming the Stamford Canal's ability to cope with the volume of water.

"Conventional design approach and standards are not sufficient to secure an adequate drainage system for the future," concluded the panel.

It noted that national water agency PUB had already started on improving the system and that measures under way to address the Bukit Timah floods "appear to be sound", but added that more can be done.

In the long run, the agency should also expand its programme to add ponds and vegetation at canals to slow and retain more rainwater, said Chan.

He added the panel is also considering other long-term solutions such as porous roads which can soak up rainwater.

The panel, made up of 12 local and foreign experts, was set up by the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources after intense rain caused a flood at Orchard Road for the second year in a row.

Members include Professor Toshio Koike from the Department of Civil Engineering, University of Tokyo, and Kan Yim-fai, chief engineer of the Land Drainage Division at Hong Kong's Drainage Services Department.

The panel met last week and will convene again in January next year to finalise its report, which will be submitted to the ministry.

Chan declined to comment on the effect of increased urbanisation in Orchard Road, which was also fingered for the floods there.

"We are still looking into that," he said.

Steven Goh, executive director of the Orchard Road Business Association, hopes the panel will consult building owners and businesses along Orchard Road before submitting its final report.

Among the association's ideas is a 'green lung' behind Ngee Ann City which can help absorbing rainwater.

"We are the people on the ground, so we will be able to contribute valuable information," he said.

Feng Zengkun

The Straits Times

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