GROUP 2

Singapore River

SINGAPORE RIVER IN THE PAST

SINGAPORE RIVER IN THE PRESENT

NAME OF RIVER : SINGAPORE RIVER

The Singapore River is a small river in Singapore with great historical importance. The Singapore River flows from the Central Area, which lies in the Central Region in the southern part of Singapore before emptying into the ocean. The immediate upper watershed of Singapore River is known as the Singapore river planning area, although the northern most part of the watershed becomes river valley. As the Central Area is treated as a central business district, nearly all land surrounding it is commercial. It is the place where Raffles made as the 1st trading port in Singapore. The Singapore river is 11 km long from its source at Kim Seng Bridge, but the waterway extends, as Alexandra Canal, as far as the junction of Commonwealth Avenue. Here there is a break until North Buona Vista Road where Sungei Ulu Pandan starts and flows into Sungei Pandan which in turn flows into the sea at West Coast Park. Thus, the source of both these waterways is in the Queenstown, Ridout Road Estate and Tanglin Halt area near Margaret Drive.

Source: http://www.wikipedia.org/

Uses:

1. TRANSPORTATION

In the past, people had to use non-motorised boats for travelling which is very tiring and troublesome. Today, people have motorised boats that can travel easily to any place without any hazzle.

2. SIGHT-SEEING

In the past, bumboats were a common sight, jostling their way through to reach the warehouses on the banks of Singapore River. Coolies can be seen loading and unloading cargoes from big ships to small bumboats. After the bad water pollution, the river clean-up project took 10 years and costing S$2.86 million. Today, converted bumboats operate as river-taxis which carry sightseeing passengers, with pickup and disembarkation points along Boat Quay and Clake Quay.

Problems:

1. WATER POLLUTION

The coolies disposed their waste materials, garbage and sewage into the Singapore river causing the water pollution.

2. DIRTY WATER

The dirty water led to a concerted effort by the relevant authorities to clean up the river. The relocation of squatters, hawkers, lighters and other polluting industries along the river. Mud was cleared from the banks and the bottom of the river, followed by the clearing of debris and other rubbish deposited in the river.

Done by:

1. Sharmaine Sow
2. Ng Sin Ming
3. Low Xue Er
4. Eden Chow
5. Hafiz