I don’t know about you, but my uneducated and uninformed hunch tells me that the flooding in recent days is not solely caused by the weather—it is too convenient an excuse to use. Something else must have a hand in it.

Referring to this picture found on the PUB Marina Barrage web site (click to enlarge):

PUB Marina Barrage Water Catchment

The image shows the enlarged catchment area after Marina Barrage is brought online.

I recall seeing another graphic at the Marina Barrage visitor information panels that shows the water catchment areas in Singapore before the construction and completion of Marina Barrage. I cannot find the image anywhere, but I’m very sure that Singapore is split into a few zones where each major reservoir has a designated catchment area surrounding it.

Of particular interest, the areas which began flooding right after the Marina Barrage came online were those that were new to the enlarged catchment zone.

I suspect that the rise in the water-table, caused by the Marina Barrage’s purpose of enlarging the water catchment area, coupled with intensive underground works, i.e., KPE, Circle Line, Downtown Line, contributed to the increase in flooding incidents within the recent year. Adding to that, they must have also lacked plans to increase drainage capacity to address issues as raised above.

Honestly, I am willing to accept any form of flooding (due to unusual weather conditions) as long as the infrastructure is designed to support it and will gracefully degrade to provide limited service.