ABSTRACT
With the rapid development and transformation of Singapore’s urban landscape that boosted the construction industry over the last decade, water pollution from the construction sites has become a major concern. Construction projects could cause substantial environmental impacts if effective management control is not put in place. When top soils are cleared for site preparation works, erosion will occur during rainy days. The silt bearing runoffs will result in massive sediment pollution in our water catchments such as the scenic reservoirs and Marina Barrage. Silt turns the waterway turbid, preventing sunlight infiltration and destroys aquatic life. Not only is marine ecology devastated, the aesthetic beauty of the reservoirs will be badly affected. Therefore, with the intensive and extensive construction activities currently going on, effective earth control measures and management are necessary and essential for maintaining the sustainability of our precious water resources.
Contract 911 (C911) - Design and Construction of Depot for Downtown Line 2 is one of the project with the largest earthworks and excavation activities. Contract 911 (C911) involved the excavation of about 3.85 millions m3 of earth and with a large site area of 25 ha. It faces greater difficulties in terms of erosion control as compare to its neighbouring sites along the developing rail transit line. Furthermore, the existing site terrace (high slope area) stretches from north to south of the entire construction site has also post greater challenges in controlling effective soil erosion and management. The overall erosion drainage system, retention ponds, water treatment plants, erosion control measures, etc have to be carefully designed and assessed. A holistic review of the ECM is thorough and precise. Hence, this paper aims to draw on C911’s unique characteristic as a platform to highlight the importance of controlling silt discharges, foster greater awareness of our commitment and share our experiences on the challenges faced in the delivery of our land transport infrastructure projects.
Keywords: Construction, Sediment, Erosion, Land transport, Water pollution, Silt, Water resource management, Road, Rail.
