Saturday, May 3, 2008

kranji tidal gates



































tidal gates help to regulate the level of water in a reservoir during a heavy downpour by releasing excess water. this is to ensure that the dam which separates the reservoir from the sea is not endangered and there will be no flooding upstream.

there are three tidal gates at kranji reservoir. each gate consists of two parts - a flap gate at its top and the main gate body. at the kranji tidal gate, there is a total of five warning signboards with the words, "danger, rapid flow, keep clear of the channel when the siren is sounded" along both banks of the spillway channel next to the park area. the gates were installed in 1976.

before the operation of tidal gates, a siren is sounded for two minutes. the siren is very loud and can be heard more than 200 metres away. the spillway channel downstream of the gate is also checked before the gate is opened.

in april 2002, there was a drowning incident involving a young child on the mudflats, not far from the area where water was discharged from the tidal gates. initially, it was speculated that the cause could be the rising water as a result of water released at the gates but investigations showed that this was not the case.

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