Cities of the future: An urban river park is transforming Singapore's water infrastructure

CH2M HILL announced that as a milestone of the Active, Beautiful and Clean (ABC) Waters Programme , the Kallang River at Bishan Park project in Singapore recently opened. CH2M HILL partnered with Atelier Dreiseitl to create an integrated approach to waterway management for the ABC Waters Programme that incorporates engineering, science, landscape design, the behavioral framework of urban design and a commitment to community involvement. The Kallang River-Bishan Park project transformed 3 kilometers of Singapore’s longest river from a concrete canal into a natural river with bioengineered slopes and landscaped banks. The new river teems with life, and has shown a 30% increase in biodiversity even before construction was completed. A first in the tropics, soil bioengineering techniques have been used to stabilize the river banks so that they can withstand strong flood flows and also provide habitats for flora and fauna. The flood plains provide generous open space for recreational activities, and in the case of a heavy down pour, the park functions like a real river plain, allowing the river water to spread and slowing the waters down through friction thus reducing the hydraulic overload of the river in more dense urban areas downstream.