Marina Barrage A Unique 3-in-1 Project in Singapore

Wung Hee Moh, Director and Pei Lin Su, Senior Manager, Best Sourcing, PUB, Singapore. Contact: SU_Pei_Lin@pub.gov.sg

Introduction
The Marina Barrage (MB), located in the southern part of Singapore, is an innovative and cost-effective engineering solution to meet Singapores needs for water supply, while providing flood control and recreational possibilities. The barrage spans across the 350-mwide Marina Channel and the resulting reservoir will be fed by waterways upstream such as the Singapore River, Geylang River and Kallang River. By keeping seawater out, the water in the reservoir will eventually turn into freshwater. The MB is much more than a dam; it has a 3-in-1 concept. The barrage is designed for flood control. It acts as a barrier against the sea and stop high tide from flooding low-lying parts of the city such as Chinatown, Boat Quay, Jalan Besar and Geylang. During heavy rain, steel gates are opened to allow excess stormwater into the sea when the tide is low. However, when it is not possible to do so during high tide, the drainage pumps capable of pumping up to 280 m3/s are activated to pump excess stormwater out to sea. With the barrage in place, these pockets of low-lying areas are no longer prone to flooding. With the completion of the MB, the Marina Reservoir is the 15th reservoir in Singapore and has the largest and most urbanized catchment at 10 000 hectares or one-sixth the size of Singapore. This will help increase the existing water catchments from half to two-thirds of Singapore together with the expected completion of the Punggol Reservoir and Serangoon Reservoir by 2011. The freshwater will then be treated using advanced membrane technology to ensure that it is safe for drinking. As the water in the Marina Reservoir will no longer be subjected to tidal influence, its water level will be kept relatively constant all year round. This makes the reservoir an ideal venue for all kinds of recreational activities such as boating, windsurfing and water skiing. Colourful water-based

performances, thrilling water sports competitions and river taxis plying between waterfront attractions will bring an attractive new lifestyle experience for all to enjoy. Keywords: Marina Barrage; Marina Reservoir; flood control; water supply; lifestyle attraction; crest gates; drainage pumps.

constraints and fullling the recreational needs. (4) The facilities have to be aesthetically pleasing, given their location in the heart of the new downtown Singapore, and be welcoming to the public. The area around Marina Reservoir has been slated by the urban redevelopment planning process in Singapore as the location for many high-value projects, in particular the multi-billion dollar Integrated Resort, the second Financial hub for Singapore, the Gardens by the Bay and the Sports Hub. These shoreline developments would benefit from the pool level in Marina Reservoir being maintained at a fairly static level, and without the 3-m daily variation caused by sea tides experienced before the barrage is constructed. An operating range of less than 1 m was selected as a design goal.

Design Considerations for Marina Barrage

The MB project was first conceived in the mid 1980s as part of a comprehensive scheme to address the significant flooding that Singapore had been experiencing in its core urban area. Annual rainfall in Singapore exceeds 2500 mm, and daily rainfall upwards of 200 mm is not uncommon. The design of the MB scheme has to address various major challenges: (1) The system has to be capable of handling the very large storm discharges of up to 2800 m3/s from very rapidly responding urban catchments. The peak ows are experienced within less than 30 min for storm events. (2) The scheme has to operate with storms up to the 100-year event without ooding in the downtown area. (3) Maximization of the water supply yield within ood control

Key Features of Marina Barrage

The key features of the MB (Fig. 1) include the following: (1) barrage with nine sh-belly crest gates spanning across the Marina Channel and a 6-m-wide pedestrian bridge spanning over the barrage; (2) drainage pumping station, which houses seven drainage pumps (six main pumps and one standby)

Boat hoist facility

Pedestrian bridge

Structural turf green roof

Sea Reservoir

Solar panels

Electrical building Drainage pumps Crest gates Exhibition gallery/ F&B outlets

Fig. 1: Key features of Marina Barrage Structures Worldwide 17

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(3)

(4)

(5) (6)

(7)

with a total pumping capacity of 280 m3/s; boat hoist facility at the eastern side of the barrage, which is capable of hoisting boats up to 20 m long, 6-m wide and 70 t in and out of the Marina Reservoir; electrical building with three 4.3-MW diesel engine-generators, which will supplement utility supply when more than two pumps are operated as well as to provide a back-up power supply; solar panels on the roof, which provide supplemental power for use in the facility; exhibition gallery, which showcases Singapores achievements in the areas of environment and water resources management; and turfed green roof accessible to public for their enjoyment throughout the day.

Marina east

Marina channel

Drainage pumping station Exhibition gallery/ F&B outlets

Boat hoist 100 m min wide channel

Barrage Marina south Sea

Cofferdam

Fig. 2: Phase 1 construction of Marina Barrage

Key Challenges
The SGD$250 million MB project is a large and complex engineering project involving multiple disciplines and spanning over 3 years to implement. Along the way, many challenges were encountered. To overcome these challenges, an innovative and integrated approach capitalizing on strong project partnerships was required. Construction of the Marina Barrage Civil works The barrage structure was constructed in two phases. During Phase 1 construction of the barrage (Fig. 2), a 100-m-wide channel was maintained in the deepest portion of the Marina Channel for navigation and flood control requirements. To ensure the safety of boat users navigating through the narrowed channel during the day as well as the night, current velocity meters showing real-time readings and warning lights were installed at strategic locations of the marine cofferdam. For Phase 2 of the barrage construction (Fig. 3), all the four crest gates installed under Phase 1 had to be kept in the open position with marine cofferdam removed to allow for storm flows out to the sea. A boat hoist was installed at the eastern side of the barrage to facilitate the transfer of boats entering the reservoir from the seaside and vice versa. The design of the temporary work (cofferdam) for MB project is specified by PUB in the contract.The detailed design
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Exhibition gallery/ F&B outlets

Marina east

Marina channel

Drainage pumping station

Boat hoist in operation

Crest gates left open

Marina south

Sea

Cofferdam

Fig. 3: Phase 2 construction of Marina Barrage

of the cofferdam is carried out by the Contractors professional engineer and checked by the Specialist engaged by the Contractor, PUBs consultant as well as accredited checker engaged by PUB. The construction of the temporary works consists of marine cofferdam with 12-m-wide double sheet pile wall of 42-m length and filled with sand (refer to Fig. 4 for aerial view of marine cofferdam), joined by cut-off wall on the land side and transition wall made up by sheet pile and raker piles. Sheet pile with length of 18 m is provided as cut-off wall against water infiltration into the excavation site. The double wall marine cofferdam is

situated at the existing sand key area with two rows of tie rods. An earth berm is provided at the landward side and the water level in the cofferdam is controlled by pumping wells. Prior to the construction of the marine cofferdam for the barrage across the 350m-wide Marina Channel, the seabed of the Channel here was dredged to about 12-m deep and filled with 144 000 m3 of sand to form sand keys. Sheetpiles for marine cofferdam were driven to 31-m deep into the sandkeys, which provide the required passive resistance in the design of the cofferdam. The foundation for the various building structures in MB including drainage pumping station, east abutment,

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Fig. 4: Aerial view of the double wall marine cofferdam

barrage, exhibition gallery and electrical building consists of base slabs supported by bored piles down to a maximum depth of 74 m. Owing to the magnitude of the pile length, specially made Kelly bars were fabricated in Italy and delivered to the site for the boring operation. The pedestrian bridge spanning across the piers was installed after the crest gate had been installed (refer to Fig. 5 for the section across the barrage). The pedestrian bridge, comprising nine segments, is 310-m long, 6-m wide and is 5,5 m above the mean sea level. To avoid damage to the installed crest gate, the pedestrian bridge was designed to be pre-cast post-tensioned bridge and the bridge segment was launched after the installation of crest gate. One of the biggest lift capacity cranes available in

the region had to be engaged for the launching operation due to the weight of the bridge segment and reach required across the marine cofferdam (see Fig. 6 showing the launching of a typical bridge segment). Mechanical and Electrical works There are nine fish-belly (self-floating design) steel crest gates across the barrage. Each gate is 29,75-m wide, 5-m high and weighs 70 tor the equivalent of 1000 men. The nine gates will act as a tidal barrier to control flooding in the city and also as a channel to keep seawater out. Installation of each gate is an exciting operation as the 70-t gate has to be lifted from a crane barge outside the barrage cofferdam and lowered between the barrage piers onto the barrage foundation

Fig. 6: Launching of pedestrian bridge segment

and placed onto nine pivot blocks. The whole operation took about an average of 10 h to complete. The pivot blocks supporting the massive 70-tonnes crest gate had to be positioned to within an accuracy of 2 mm (refer to Fig. 7 showing the installation of the crest gate). Seven drainage pumps (see Fig. 8 for the photo of drainage pump at MB) are located in the drainage pumping station. The 3,2 m diameter, 7,5-m high and 28-t drainage pump is one of the largest vertical axial flow pumps in the world. Each pump has a pumping

Hydraulic cylinder Max water level Reservoir Min water level Stop logs Crest gate (raised position) Crest gate (lowered position)

RL 101,75 (King tide) RL 101,50 (High tide normal) Sea RL 98,50 (Low tide)

Concrete protection boom

Energy dissipation basin

92,00

Barrage section

Fig. 5: Section across the barrage

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of the crest gates, drainage pumps and low-level sluices. There is also a predictive barrage operating system that will process the hydrological and meteorological data in real time, and forecast rainfall and runoff. This useful information is used to aid the operation of the crest gates and drainage pumps.

Marina Barrage Experience

The MB is a distinctive landmark set in nature, a focal point where the channel meets the sea as well as an icon (both by day and by night) for Singapore amidst the calm water surface of Marina Channel, the greenery of the surrounding area and the magnificent skyline of Marina Bay area. The MB was designed to blend well with the future Gardens by the Bay, which is being developed on both sides of the Marina Channel, adjacent to the MB. Yet, is an iconic structure in its own right, providing an attractive and welcoming venue to residents and visitors to Singapore. The roof itself, located about 16 m above mean sea level and the pedestrian bridge across the Marina Channel will provide the public with spectacular panoramic views of Singapores city skyline and out across the Singapore Straits. The MB is not only an engineering achievement but also a unique showcase of Singapores efforts and achievements towards environmentally sustainable development. Numerous green (environmentally friendly) features are incorporated within the development. Some of these green features include the large green-turfed roof, use of solar energy, energyefficient and water-efficient fittings and recycled materials in the development. The exhibition gallery aims to raise the awareness on Singapores efforts and achievements in the areas of environment and water resources management and to inculcate a joint sense of ownership in the environment and water resources in the public.

Fig. 7: Installation of the 70 t crest gate

Fig. 8: Drainage pump at Marina Barrage

capacity of 40 m3/s and is capable of emptying an Olympic size swimming pool in 1 min. Excess stormwater is pumped out into the sea when the storm coincides with high tide. There are two low-level sluices, which is a system of bypass pipes and butterfly valves located in the drainage pumping station. The sluices are used to release denser reservoir water (high salt content saline water) at the bottom of the reservoir back into the sea and to make minor adjustments to the reservoir level without the need for operating the crest gates or the drainage pumps. There are three 4,3-MW diesel engine-generators (E-G) provided in the

electrical building. Besides serving as a back-up for utility supply, they also help to supplement power if more than two drainage pumps are required for operation. The cooling system of the E-Gs uses freshwater from the reservoir to circulate to the heat exchangers mounted on each engine-generator. A 500-kVA emergency standby generator set is also available to provide power for building services during utility failures. Supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) system and predictive barrage operating system A supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) system provides real-time monitoring and control

Conclusion
In essence, the MB (refer to Fig. 9 for its aerial view) is a unique 3-in-1 project, which will provide Singapore with three benefits, namely flood control, water supply and a lifestyle attraction in the heart of downtown Singapore.

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Besides being an engineering achievement, it is also a unique showcase of Singapores efforts and achievements towards environmentally sustainable development. The MB was also deve-

loped to provide both Singaporeans and tourists a sense of place within the city. It also serves as an icon by the waterfront in the day and a beacon by the water edge at night.

SEI Data Block Owner: Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources, Singapore Developer: PUB, Singapore Main Consultant: Camp Dresser & Mckee International (S) Pte Ltd Architect: Architects Team 3 Pte Ltd Main Contractor: Koh Brothers Building & Civil Engineering Contractor Pte Ltd Contractors Specialist Consultant: Black & Veatch Steel reinforcement (t): Concrete (m ): Total Cost (USD million): Service Date:
3

20 000 140 000 167

November, 2008

Fig. 9: Aerial view of Marina Barrage

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