20110505 Multi-Billion Dysfunctional Waterway - Reasons & Solutions

20110505 Multi-billion Dysfunctional Waterway - Reasons & Solutions
http://bettersingapore.blogspot.com/2011/05/20110505-multi-billion-dysfunctional.html

Forgotten is the slope of drain that accelerate the water flow, to discharge faster to prevent flood from storm, to prevent dengue from stagnated pools in drier season

This is a picture taken at PUB building second floor, on the day and time i made appointment days ago alerted Minister of impending flood - 2007 08 24 Hrs 1107

Can one who cannot manage flood on second floor, partially concealed corridor, design our waterway?
20110504 reported whole island floods

There is no perfect person, solution
     Because everyone, all solutions can be continuously improved

But there are many wrong solutions, fundamentally wrong, costly, even fatal solutions.
   because they go against the law of physics, order of nature, interest of society
   they set wrong priorities, measure wrong parameters, heading wrong directions

What Goh Keng Swee often tell his officers 

Bucking at the wrong tree

Persons, if after repeated fundamental errors made, counseled, solutions given
    still has not learn, even fellow Singaporean solutions provider is embargoed

How do we describe this person?

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The purpose of writing this article is not to claim credit for myself.

But to

• Show simple solutions by Singaporeans, in the hand of world experts becomes ineffective, costly solutions.
• Remove the need of ten of billions of dollars in building huge number of dysfunctional big, deep drains, many concealed.
• Deep Conceal drains even at hill top, with zero catchment areas is absolutely wasteful. this one at Pepys Hill, at the peak of Pasir Panjang Hill.

• Big drains, concealed drains even with good slope still caused silting. This picture is one taken on 20080323 on Buona Vista Road, near Fusion Polis, which has very steep slope about 5 degree gradient. Concealed Silted, how are you going to clear them.  

           (Readers are also recommended to go to Kampong Bahru Pump Station on Kampong Bahru Road, near Prima tower

1. Too big a drain, flow is slow, water get stagnated. This  i alerted the MP of Tanjong Pagar about Kampong Bahru Pump Station - Fresh Storm water, within half a day of stagnation, form algae and become smelly (Upper Picture 20070523) and after slimming drain down 20070720, flow becomes smooth and pest free - small is better, can even discharge more as there is less stagnated objects.

 

• Deep drains even less than 50 meter from bottom of slop, youthful, agile foreign workers cannot clear the silt (Photo taken Ang Mo Kio 2009 03 23)

• Deep drains historically not recommended, as it drains nitrates from the ground and promote algae formation, resulting in water in our reservoirs too rich, treatment too costly. (picture taken on 20110429 Boon Lay Way Lamp Post 66, we see deeper weeping holes, evn fresh water also form algae due to nitrate rich discharge)

• As Garden City, we need to device better filter to remove leaves - we shall explain in future article. Most of the flash flood in Singapore that subsides in minutes is due to choked filter, NOT undersized drainage.

• Avoid investing hundreds of millions of decorative work (such as along AMK Ave 1 ) of planting flowers on river slope that may intensifies nitrates into water bodies, resulting in too rich, too much algae - which make water not potable, treatment too costly.

• Avoid further embarrassment right in front of our people, the world, especially diplomats, visitors who work and shop around Orchard Road.

• Comfort Singaporeans, government there are many able civil servants
• Who knows simpler solution is the right solutions, 
• Who knows Singaporeans can provide many better solutions than the Ang Mo,
• Who are passionate about solving our problems
• Who were even short listed for election.

But they need devoted leaders, many top scholars are inadequate
Our existing one still cannot after repeated lessons, solutions given

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i am reluctant to write on this topic, even i know the impact to our nation, because i hope the wrong doers have learned, have improved, have corrected.

But

Yesterday, 20110504 it is reported Minister for the Environment and Water Resource reported the raise of road level MAY solve the flood problem in Orchard Road, and days ago he claimed that tens of billions has been invested in building our waterway.

Solving problems cannot be by 

how much money you dumped into it !

Most of world problems, our problems were because of

too much money was dumped into some people, doing something The solutions become inefficient, even ineffective, even wrong

the world financial crises, the NKF, the Renci, the widening gap between government and people in Singapore.

We see the sincere apology of the PM, but we need solutions.

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Orchard Road is where world diplomats, visitors works, visits.
After invested so much, we cannot say we MAY solve the problem.

We need to

1. Mark the catchment areas where rainfall depends on Orchard Road canals to discharge
2. Number the capacity increase in water carriage capacities
3. identify where is the bottle neck of this flow capacity

With these, you can arrive at the critical rain fall that

1. How many gates at Marina Barrage we need to open up at which moment
2. How many pumps at Marina Barrage we need to start at which moment

The first was missed out and was said to the cause of one of the flood.
The second was still not mentioned according to my record.

The Minister clearly is uncertain of what is the improvement of carriage capacity, because raising of road level

do not contribute directly to water carriage capacity 

Our MRT entrances, shopping malls entrance were designed with raised platforms at entry for protection against flood.

With raise in road level, without corresponding raising of these platforms, 

Would not subject our MRT, Shopping Mall, Embassies, Electrical Supplies, Sewerage to  

Critical, Expanded collateral failures when flood hit !

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Wrong tree 1 - Think Big while we are small catchment

If within about 100 meter across Orchard Road, we need two big canals (in front of Wisma and Lucky Plaza) to serve a catchment of less than 15km by 15 km (Singapore is less than 40km at the longest end, with no less than 5 major rivers to the sea.), with usually less than day long heavy rain

We have such small catchment, with intense heavy storm do not last longer than a day long.

Then would not the whole Shanghai go under water to serve few-days-long heavy down pour over one or two provinces upstream Yangtze?

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Wrong tree 2 - Think Far while we are small island

A few months ago, in a two page Interview on Straits Times, PUB's Yap Kheng Guan said the flooded areas is too far away from the sea, so discharge into sea is irrelvant.

He live in a very very narrow minded world, has not see how immense the nature, is no learning from recent flood in Australia

"One of the people who are confirmed deceased was found 

80 kilometres downstream from where they were reported missing,"

Australia 2011 01 14 Flood

In flood control, the most important is to discharge into the sea.

Singapore is the easiest to manage, for our catchment for stormwater is small, is measurable, and better is within one authority.

We do not need to fly far, drive to Klang River and see the complexity they are managing Klang Valley.

Obviously, we do not need the immense system Malaysian invested into.
With this wrong bucking, Singapore will not soon fallen behind Malaysia ?

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Wrong tree 3 - Building More, Bigger, Deeper Drains


When immense budget is poured into our water department, more, bigger, deeper drains are built.
And as any National Service man will do, cover them up will make their jobs easier.

They have forgotten gradient of drains, speed of water flow is important, to discharge, to prevent dengue from stagnated pools of water.

This is a picture taken at PUB building second floor, on the day and time i made appointment days ago alerted Minister of impending flood - 2007 08 24 Hrs 1107

Can one who cannot manage flood on second floor, partially concealed corridor design our waterway?

Can we add some slope or can we dig deeper on this corridor?

to be continued...