Kallang River
Encyclopedia
Lower Peirce Reservoir
The Lower Peirce Reservoir is one of the oldest reservoirs in Singapore. It is located near the MacRitchie Reservoir and the Upper Peirce Reservoir. It was originally created as the Peirce Reservoir but was designated as lower upon the creation of the Upper Peirce Reservoir. It is 6 hectares in...
to the coast
Coast
A coastline or seashore is the area where land meets the sea or ocean. A precise line that can be called a coastline cannot be determined due to the dynamic nature of tides. The term "coastal zone" can be used instead, which is a spatial zone where interaction of the sea and land processes occurs...
at Nicoll Highway
Nicoll Highway
Nicoll Highway is a major arterial road in Singapore which links Kallang to the city. En route, it passes through the areas of Kallang, Kampong Glam and Marina Centre....
, making it the longest river in Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
. The river mouth was traditionally at Kallang Basin, although extensive land reclamation
Land reclamation
Land reclamation, usually known as reclamation, is the process to create new land from sea or riverbeds. The land reclaimed is known as reclamation ground or landfill.- Habitation :...
around the area meant the river only flows into the open sea via the Marina Channel between Marina Centre
Marina Centre
Marina Centre is a zone of reclaimed land within the Downtown Core in the southern part of Singapore. Together with the Marina South area, it encloses the sheltered Marina Bay....
and Marina East
Marina East
Marina East is located at East Coast Park, Singapore. It covers 140 hectares of reclaimed land. The NTUC Club Marina East Course which is a public golf course, is located here.-External links:**...
.
History
In pre-colonial times, the original inhabitants of Singapore, the aboriginal biduanda orang kallang, lived in the swampSwamp
A swamp is a wetland with some flooding of large areas of land by shallow bodies of water. A swamp generally has a large number of hammocks, or dry-land protrusions, covered by aquatic vegetation, or vegetation that tolerates periodical inundation. The two main types of swamp are "true" or swamp...
s at the mouth of the Kallang River, and fished from their boats, seldom venturing out into the open sea. At the time when Sir Stamford Raffles landed in Singapore in 1819, half of the population
Population
A population is all the organisms that both belong to the same group or species and live in the same geographical area. The area that is used to define a sexual population is such that inter-breeding is possible between any pair within the area and more probable than cross-breeding with individuals...
of 1,000 were orang kallang.
Kallang River is the place, too, where in the early days the Bugis
Bugis
The Bugis are the most numerous of the three major linguistic and ethnic groups of South Sulawesi, the southwestern province of Sulawesi, Indonesia's third largest island. Although many Bugis live in the large port cities of Makassar and Parepare, the majority are farmers who grow wet rice on the...
trader
Merchant
A merchant is a businessperson who trades in commodities that were produced by others, in order to earn a profit.Merchants can be one of two types:# A wholesale merchant operates in the chain between producer and retail merchant...
s from Sulawesi
Sulawesi
Sulawesi is one of the four larger Sunda Islands of Indonesia and is situated between Borneo and the Maluku Islands. In Indonesia, only Sumatra, Borneo, and Papua are larger in territory, and only Java and Sumatra have larger Indonesian populations.- Etymology :The Portuguese were the first to...
(Celebes) unloaded their cargo
Cargo
Cargo is goods or produce transported, generally for commercial gain, by ship, aircraft, train, van or truck. In modern times, containers are used in most intermodal long-haul cargo transport.-Marine:...
es of spices and tortoise shell
Tortoiseshell material
Tortoiseshell or tortoise shell is a material produced mainly from the shell of the hawksbill turtle, an endangered species. It was widely used in the 1960s and 1970s in the manufacture of items such as combs, sunglasses, guitar picks and knitting needles...
s, gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
dust and slave
Slavery
Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...
s from their palari or their leteh-leteh. These sailing boats were a common sight off the sea front even up to the 1960s.
Today, this long, winding river has little or no industry
Industry
Industry refers to the production of an economic good or service within an economy.-Industrial sectors:There are four key industrial economic sectors: the primary sector, largely raw material extraction industries such as mining and farming; the secondary sector, involving refining, construction,...
except for a short distance, although a new industrial estate at Kallang Basin, near Kallang Bahru, has been built.
Future development
Kallang River is now transformed into part of the water catchment area for the Marina ReservoirMarina Reservoir
The Marina Reservoir is a reservoir in Marina Bay, Singapore formed in 2008 from the damming of the mouth of the Kallang Basin. With the completion of the Marina Barrage on October 30 2008, the reservoir, which contained mainly salt water, became freshwater and started operations at 7 pm on...
. A new dam
Dam
A dam is a barrier that impounds water or underground streams. Dams generally serve the primary purpose of retaining water, while other structures such as floodgates or levees are used to manage or prevent water flow into specific land regions. Hydropower and pumped-storage hydroelectricity are...
, the Marina Barrage
Marina Barrage
The Marina Barrage is a dam in Singapore built across the mouth of the bay, between Marina East and Marina South. It was officially opened on 1 November 2008[1]...
, was built at the mouth of the Marina Channel at Marina South
Marina South
Marina South is a peninsula adjacent to the Central Business District in Singapore, and also the name of an urban planning area in the Central Area of Singapore's Central Region.-History:...
. With the completion of the Marina Barrage
Marina Barrage
The Marina Barrage is a dam in Singapore built across the mouth of the bay, between Marina East and Marina South. It was officially opened on 1 November 2008[1]...
in 2008, the entire region comprising the basins of the Singapore River
Singapore River
The Singapore River is a 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...
, Rochor River
Rochor River
Rochor River is a canalised river in Kallang of the Central Region in Singapore. The river is about 0.8 km in length....
, Geylang River
Geylang River
Geylang River is a canalised river in Geylang of the Eastern Region in Singapore. With the formation of the Marina Reservoir after the completion of the Marina Barrage in 2008, the river now forms part of the reservoir....
and Kallang River will be transformed into a water catchment area.
In April 2006, the Singapore government
Government of Singapore
The Government of Singapore is defined by the Constitution of the Republic of Singapore to mean the Executive branch of government, which is made up of the President and the Cabinet of Singapore. Although the President acts in his personal discretion in the exercise of certain functions as a check...
announced plans to give a 200-metre stretch of the Kallang River at Kolam Ayer
Kolam Ayer
Kolam Ayer is a small neighbourhood located in Kallang. The neighbourhood is served by Kallang MRT Station and the future Kallang Bahru MRT Station....
a S$2.5 million facelift.
The "demonstration project" by the National Parks Board
National Parks Board
The National Parks Board is a statutory board of the Singapore Government.The National Parks Board is responsible for providing and enhancing the greenery of Singapore. NParks manages around 300 parks, the park connector network and the roadside greenery in Singapore...
(NParks) and the Public Utilities Board
Public Utilities Board
The Public Utilities Board is a statutory board of the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources under the Government of Singapore....
(PUB) is part of the Active, Beautiful and Clean Waters Programme to transform rivers and reservoirs into vibrant community hubs, and to get Singaporean
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
s to cherish and take care of their waterways. NParks and the PUB reviewed some of the world's best rivers such as the Charles River
Charles River
The Charles River is an long river that flows in an overall northeasterly direction in eastern Massachusetts, USA. From its source in Hopkinton, the river travels through 22 cities and towns until reaching the Atlantic Ocean at Boston...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and the Cheonggye Stream in Seoul
Seoul
Seoul , officially the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea. A megacity with a population of over 10 million, it is the largest city proper in the OECD developed world...
to draw inspiration and learn best practices.
By August 2007, the Kolam Ayer
Kolam Ayer
Kolam Ayer is a small neighbourhood located in Kallang. The neighbourhood is served by Kallang MRT Station and the future Kallang Bahru MRT Station....
stretch of the river will be transformed to include more greenery
Greenery
Greenery may refer to:* Any foliage of a plant, either live, freshly cut, or artificial. The term is used in the landscaping, interior design, and florist industries.* A houseplant used for its foliage.* A slang term for marijuana....
, floating decks, pathways and boardwalk
Boardwalk
A boardwalk, in the conventional sense, is a wooden walkway for pedestrians and sometimes vehicles, often found along beaches, but they are also common as paths through wetlands, coastal dunes, and other sensitive environments....
s for recreation
Recreation
Recreation is an activity of leisure, leisure being discretionary time. The "need to do something for recreation" is an essential element of human biology and psychology. Recreational activities are often done for enjoyment, amusement, or pleasure and are considered to be "fun"...
al activities. A water wheel
Water wheel
A water wheel is a machine for converting the energy of free-flowing or falling water into useful forms of power. A water wheel consists of a large wooden or metal wheel, with a number of blades or buckets arranged on the outside rim forming the driving surface...
will be introduced as the centrepiece of the project. The water level
Water level
Water level or gage height or stage is the elevation of the free surface of a stream, lake or reservoir relative to a specified datum ....
will be kept at a constant level — 3 metres deep — making activities such as kayak
Kayak
A kayak is a small, relatively narrow, human-powered boat primarily designed to be manually propelled by means of a double blade paddle.The traditional kayak has a covered deck and one or more cockpits, each seating one paddler...
ing and dragon boat
Dragon boat
A dragon boat is a human-powered watercraft traditionally made, in the Pearl River delta region of southern China - Guangdong Province, of teak wood to various designs and sizes. In other parts of China different woods are used to build these traditional watercraft...
ing possible.
Trivia
In June 2005, the body parts of murderMurder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
victim Liu Hong Mei were found near the confluence
Confluence (geography)
In geography, a confluence is the meeting of two or more bodies of water. It usually refers to the point where two streams flow together, merging into a single stream...
between the river and its tributary, the Rochor River
Rochor River
Rochor River is a canalised river in Kallang of the Central Region in Singapore. The river is about 0.8 km in length....
.