Western Water Catchment | |
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Other transcription(s) | |
• Chinese | 西部集水区(Simplified) 西部集水區(Traditional) Xībù Jíshuǐqū(Pinyin) Se-pō͘ Chi̍p-chúi-khu(Hokkien POJ) |
• Malay | Kawasan Tadahan Air Barat(Rumi) کاوسن تادهن اءير بارت(Jawi) |
• Tamil | மேற்கத்திய நீர் நீர்ப்பிடிப்பு Mēṟkattiya nīr nīrppiṭippu(Transliteration) |
Coordinates: 1°23′13″N103°41′31″E / 1.387°N 103.692°E | |
Country | Singapore |
Region | West Region |
CDC | |
Town councils |
|
Constituencies | |
Government | |
• Mayor | South West CDC |
• Members of Parliament | Chua Chu Kang GRC
West Coast GRC
|
Area | |
• Total | 69.5 km2 (26.8 sq mi) |
• Rank | 1st |
Population | |
• Total | 720 |
• Rank | 38th |
• Density | 10/km2 (27/sq mi) |
• Rank | 41st |
Postal district | 24 |
The Western Water Catchment is a planning area located in the West Region of Singapore. The planning area borders Tuas and Pioneer to its south, Sungei Kadut, Choa Chu Kang and Tengah to its east, Jurong West to its southeast, Lim Chu Kang to its north and the Straits of Johor to its west. It is the largest planning area by land area, covering nearly a tenth of Singapore Island. It is also one of the two main water catchments in Singapore, the other being Central Water Catchment.
The area currently houses four reservoirs, Tengeh Reservoir, Poyan Reservoir, Murai Reservoir and Sarimbun Reservoir. Part of the Western Water Catchment is also a live-firing area in which it is used by the Singapore Armed Forces for training purposes.
The SAFTI Live Firing Area commenced operations in 1968 and was revamped in 2008, the eastern part began operations in 2002 and has been extended to Lim Chu Kang Tracks 11 and 13.
The SAFTI Live Firing Area was drawn out in 1967, Before the drawing-up and gazetting of the live-firing zone, most residents and occupants living within the affected boundaries were shifted to Boon Lay as its pioneer residents and factories there were relocated to the Jurong Industrial Area, leaving only a few villages behind (all were gone by the early 1990s). On 14 July 1968, four villagers died and nine others were injured in the live-firing area (near Kampong Berih, one of many rural villages in the area) and seven other villagers snuck into Pasir Laba (on the coastline of the Johor Straits) by sampans to pick durians and rambutans from the many fruit trees in the forest there. These villagers were injured by mortar rounds in their attempt to collect fruits. [3] There are many cases of trespassers in the live firing area. [4]
Previously, there was also a military fort called Pasir Laba Battery as a WWII gun battery from 1936 to 1942. It was therefore demolished in 1970s although it is located at both Wrexham and Bajau area. Several of the WWII gun battery historical remains were seen at the junction of Wrexham Drive and Wrexham Road. [5]
There are seven main military bases in the Western Water Catchment. These include Pasir Laba Camp, Choa Chu Kang Camp at Lorong Danau (where the RSAF's 201 Squadron is based; it has Fighter control, SAM control, Surveillance and ASP), [6] Sungei Gedong Camp (HQ Armour), Kranji Camp II & III, Mowbray Camp (SAF MP Command) and Tengah Air Base. A military aerostat, widely referred to as a blimp locally, is tethered to the ground at Choa Chu Kang Camp as part of testing for use as long-range air defence radar in Singapore. [7] Additionally, there are various live-firing ranges in the Western Water Catchment; these include the Multi-Mission Range Complex, MATADOR Range, M203 Range, several SAFTI ranges and the Poyan 300m Range.
Half of the Western Water Catchment lies within the SAFTI Live Firing Area boundary. The boundary is within Bahtera Track, Lim Chu Kang Road, New Lim Chu Kang Road, Jalan Bahar, Nanyang Avenue, Nanyang Crescent, Nanyang Drive, PIE, the production of Singapore Rail Test Centre (SRTC), Singapore Rail Test Centre (SRTC), Tengeh Reservoir and Straits of Johor. A few parts are opened to public for various reasons (e.g. short intersection of Old Choa Chu Kang Road, Pasir Laba Road and the whole of Sungei Gedong Road). The remaining half are still military training areas. Those are the places that have been fenced off:
Gate | Location |
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SAFTI Live Firing Area | |
Gate A | Wrexham Bridge near Jalan Ahmad Ibrahim and Singapore Rail Test Centre, for access to Tengeh Reservoir. A few portions remains open as side roads to Singapore Rail Test Centre, PUB and SembCorp Tengeh Floating Solar Farm to the public, whereas a gated access is only for a main road. |
Gate B | Pasir Laba Road near Pasir Laba Camp. This is the only two public entrances due to military camp and requires permission from Pasir Laba Camp Commander before entering access. |
Gate C | Peng Kang Avenue near to Pan Island Expressway |
Gate D | Peng Kang Avenue near to Peng Kang Hill MRT station |
Gate E | Lorong Danau (Near to NTU), for access to Poyan Reservoir and Choa Chu Kang Camp. |
Gate F | New Lim Chu Kang Road/Jalan Bahar junction at an unnamed track |
Gate G | Jalan Sungei Poyan just at the SAFTI City, for access to Poyan Reservoir. The short intersection of Old Choa Chu Kang Road is still accessible to public. |
Gate H | Former Kampong Berih Road, for access to Poyan Reservoir. The short intersection of Old Choa Chu Kang Road is still accessible to public. |
Gate I | Jalan Murai near to New Lim Chu Kang Road and former Murai Urban Training Facility, for access to Murai Reservoir. |
Gate J | Thousand Oaks Road near to New Lim Chu Kang Road |
Gate K | Murai North Park/Sungei Gedong Road |
Gate L | Sungei Gedong Camp. This is the only two public entrances due to military camp and requires permission from Sungei Gedong Camp Commander before entering access. |
Gate M | Sarimbun Drive/Sungei Gedong Road |
Gate N | Jalan Bahtera, for access to Sarimbun Reservoir. |
Gate outside SAFTI Live Firing Area | |
Gate 1 | Jalan Bahar (East) |
Gate 2 | Old Choa Chu Kang Road/Jalan Berseri |
Gate 3 | Ama Keng Road |
Gate 4 | Lim Chu Kang Track 9 |
Gate 5 | Neo Tiew Road (South) |
Gate 6 | Neo Tiew Buildings |
Gate 7 | Jalan Gemala 3 |
Gate 8 East | Lim Chu Kang Lane 1 from Neo Tiew Road |
Gate 8 West | Lim Chu Kang Lane 1 from Lim Chu Kang Road |
Gate 9 East | Lim Chu Kang Lane 3 from Neo Tiew Road |
Gate 9 West | Lim Chu Kang Lane 3 from Lim Chu Kang Road |
Gate 10 | Lim Chu Kang Lane 4 |
Gate 11 | Lim Chu Kang Lane 5 |
Gate 12 | Lim Chu Kang Lane 6 |
Gate 13 | Lim Chu Kang Lane 6C |
In the Murai area, there are more military training areas which are the Murai Urban Live Firing Facility (MULFAC), Murai Urban Training Facility (MUTF) and MEXCON. These will be affected under the proposed Lim Chu Kang Road realignment project for the expanded Tengah Air Base, along with the construction of the new SAFTI City. The facility was located within an existing training area in Lim Chu Kang, in the vicinity of Jalan Murai. The MUTF is built to resemble a typical town, and has features such as single-level houses; a commercial district comprising multi-function, multi-storey buildings; a residential district; as well as an industrial district. The MUTF was permanently closed in 26 August 2022 to be given for the construction of the new Lim Chu Kang Road and Tengah Airbase, with training being shifted to SAFTI City. The stretch of Lim Chu Kang Road between Neo Tiew Road and Old Choa Chu Kang Road will be permanently closed and given to make way for an expanded Tengah Air Base.
Western Water Catchment houses the Home Team Academy (HTA), which is located along Old Choa Chu Kang Road, and the Civil Defence Academy (CDA), which is located along Jalan Bahar, next to the Muslim cemetery. The SPF ProCom (Protective Security Command) camp is located at Mowbray road, adjacent to the SAF Mowbray Camp.
Western Water Catchment houses the main campus of Nanyang Technological University and National Institute of Education, located at the boundary with Jurong West.
Western Water Catchment houses the Choa Chu Kang Cemetery, which is the largest cemetery in Singapore. It is located at the junction of the Old Choa Chu Kang Road, Lim Chu Kang Road and Jalan Bahar. Within its grounds, are several columbaria, including the state-run Choa Chu Kang Columbarium, and two private facilities, namely The Garden of Remembrance, a Christian columbarium and Ji Le Memorial Park, a Buddhist facility.
This water catchment has 4 reservoirs.
Tengeh Reservoir | |
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Location | Western Water Catchment |
Coordinates | 1°20′45″N103°38′50″E / 1.34583°N 103.64722°E |
Type | reservoir |
Basin countries | Singapore |
Tengeh Reservoir (Malay: Tadahan Air Tengeh; Chinese: 登格蓄水池) was formerly a river, Sungei Tengeh, which emptied into the Straits of Johor and was dammed to become a reservoir in the early 1980s (which is part of Western Water Catchment Scheme). It is located at Wrexham and Bajau districts. Construction of the reservoir began on 11 March 1977. [8]
Tengeh Reservoir is part of the SAFTI Live Firing Area (South) and has restricted access since 19 January 1992. It is accessible from TRMC Gate A and Gate B. [9]
The southern side of Tengeh Reservoir is the Raffles Country Club, and the golf areas can see the reservoir clearly. The Raffles Country Club construction began on 29 October 1987. The government of Singapore has made the second large acquisition of land for the project by requiring Raffles Country Club to vacate its plot as the site offers the "most suitable location" to run the HSR tracks after the bridge crossing and to place the tunnel portal leading to the tunnels that would take the HSR to the Jurong East terminus. The site has to be vacated by July 31, 2018, to be used for HSR crossover tracks and a siding facility to temporarily house a train near the border for safety or operational reasons. It is renamed to Singapore Rail Test Centre, the northern perimeter is called Peng Kang View from May 2024. Peng Kang View also has built a new Instrumented Battle Circuit (IBAC). [10]
On 3 November 2011, Public Utilities Board (PUB) and Economic Development Board (EDB) decided to install floating solar panels at Tengeh Reservoir, which is part of S$11 million project. [11] The 60 MW facility became operational in July 2021. [12] [13]
Poyan Reservoir | |
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Location | Western Water Catchment |
Coordinates | 1°22′37″N103°39′50″E / 1.37694°N 103.66389°E |
Type | reservoir |
Basin countries | Singapore |
Poyan Reservoir (Malay: Tadahan Air Poyan; Chinese: 波扬蓄水池) was previously part of the river Sungei Poyan and its delta, which was dammed to become a reservoir. Sungei Poyan emptied into the Straits of Johor. It is located in SAFTI City, Poyan and Bajau districts. Construction of the reservoir began on 11 March 1977. [8]
At the same year, Mediacorp has filmed the drama "Behind Bars" (Season 1 Episode 28) at that location, the Poyan Temple was there, as "Temple Hill". However, at that location, there is only a money train visible at the location since 2008. [14]
It is part of SAFTI Live Firing Area (South), which has restricted access and is accessible from TRMC Gate E, Gate F, Gate G and Gate H. [9] In April 2019, some of the roads at Poyan Reservoir were also named - Poyan Drive, Poyan Avenue, SAFTI City Avenue and Danau Grove. [15]
At the reservoir, only the Mobility 3rd Generation raft is deployed to load and unload military vehicles when crossing from the western side to the eastern side.
Murai Reservoir | |
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Location | Western Water Catchment |
Coordinates | 1°24′00″N103°40′25″E / 1.40000°N 103.67361°E |
Type | reservoir |
Basin countries | Singapore |
Murai Reservoir (Malay: Tadahan Air Murai; Chinese :慕莱蓄水池; pinyin :Mù lái xù shuǐ chí) was formerly Sungei Murai, which was dammed in early 1980s, to create a reservoir. It is located in Murai, Murai North and Thousand Oaks districts. Construction work had begun in November 1977. [8]
It is part of SAFTI Live Firing Area (North), of which is restricted to only from the TRMC Operations Room and accessible from Gate I. [9] The former Murai Urban Training Facility and now Murai IBAC (Instrumented Battle Circuit) is east of Murai Reservoir, which can be accessed through Jalan Murai from New Lim Chu Kang Road, together with the Murai Urban Live Firing Facility (MULFF). [15]
There is also a road east of Murai Urban Training Facility which goes from Lim Chu Kang Road to Jalan Murai, called Murai Farmway and was expunged since the COVID-19 pandemic. Access to the area and the reservoir has been restricted since October 1999. Murai North and Thousand Oaks had four dirt roads named - Lim Chu Kang Track 11 and Track 13, most of it were expunged by December 2023 and only Track 13 was renamed to Thousand Oaks Avenue.
Sarimbun Reservoir | |
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Location | Western Water Catchment |
Coordinates | 1°25′35″N103°41′00″E / 1.42639°N 103.68333°E |
Type | reservoir |
Basin countries | Singapore |
Sarimbun Reservoir (Malay: Tadahan Air Sarimbun; Chinese: 莎琳汶蓄水池) was constructed by damming Sungei Sarimbun and widening of Sungei Karang, Sungei Hantu, and Sungei Sarimbun. [16] It is located in Sarimbun, Sungei Gedong, Bahtera and Kapal districts. Construction work began in November 1977. [8]
It is part of SAFTI Live Firing Area in the north, which has restricted access since 19 January 1992 and only accessible through the TRMC Operations Room. The gate is accessible through the road named Jalan Bahtera and is called TRMC Gate M and Gate N. [9] The public can cut through from Bahtera Track to enter Sarimbun Reservoir area.
Sarimbun was where General Tomoyuki Yamashita landed his troops during World War II, and was engaged in the Battle of Sarimbun Beach. Sarimbun is also home to many small vegetable and fruit farms and health farms. Sarimbun also hosts multiple permanent campsites, especially on Jalan Bahtera. These campsites include the Singapore Scout Association's Sarimbun Campsite, Girl Guides Singapore's Camp Christine, and Ministry of Education's Jalan Bahtera Adventure Centre. These will be closed down by 2032 and will be replaced by expanded SAFTI Live Firing Area.
Sarimbun is a Malay place name, and existed probably since the early nineteenth century. The Franklin and Jackson's Plan of Singapore (1830) refers to Sungei Sarimbun, or Sarimbun River in Malay, as "Serimhone".
Rimbun means "luxuriant", "in great quantity" or "thick".
Other place names with Sarimbun include Pulau Sarimbun, a small island in the Straits of Johor off the coast at Sarimbun. Pulau Sarimbun is within the SAFTI Live Firing Area as shown in the map.
There are three islands in the Western Water Catchment - Pulau Bajau, Pulau Pergam and Pulau Sarimbun. Pulau Bajau is a hypsographic island within Poyan Reservoir. It is part of the SAFTI live firing area.
Pulau Bajau means Bajau island, in which Bajau is an indigenous ethnic group residing in the state of Sabah in east Malaysia, Indonesia and southern Philippines.
Western Catchment Area has very few public bus connections in the vicinity – 172, 179, 199, 405 and 975. Bus services 179 and 199 operates from Boon Lay Bus Interchange and provides bus connections between NTU and nearby MRT stations, Boon Lay and Pioneer. Service 172, which operates between Choa Chu Kang and Boon Lay interchanges, serves the military and Home Team installations along Jalan Bahar and Old Choa Chu Kang Road, while service 975 serves Choa Chua Kang Cemetery and the various military/Home Team installations along Old Choa Chu Kang Road, Old Lim Chu Kang Road and Lim Chu Kang Road with connections to Choa Chu Kang and Bukit Panjang MRT/LRT stations. Service 405, which operates from Boon Lay interchange, predominantly serves the Choa Chu Kang Cemetery and only operates on selected days of the year, namely at the eves of certain festivals in Singapore. Besides public bus services, NTU internal campus shuttle buses provide a free alternative to public buses for commutes between Pioneer MRT station and NTU as well as within the campus.
There are currently no operational MRT stations within Western Water Catchment. Tawas, Nanyang Gateway, Nanyang Crescent and Peng Kang Hill stations of the upcoming Jurong Region line (JRL) are currently under construction and will be completed by 2029. These stations will improve accessibility between NTU, CleanTech Park and Jurong West.
Jurong is a major geographical region located at the south-westernmost point of the West Region of Singapore. Although mostly vaguely defined, the region's extent roughly covers the planning areas of Jurong East, Jurong West, Boon Lay, and Pioneer, along with Jurong Island in the Western Islands cluster and the southernmost portions of the Western Water Catchment. Should it be described at its greatest historical extent, the region can also include present-day Bukit Batok and Tuas.
Choa Chu Kang, alternatively spelled Chua Chu Kang and often abbreviated as CCK, is a planning area and residential town located at the northwestern point of the West Region of Singapore. The town shares borders with Sungei Kadut to the north, Tengah to the southwest, Bukit Batok to the southeast, Bukit Panjang to the east and the Western Water Catchment to the west. Choa Chu Kang New Town is separated into two portions by the Kranji Expressway.
Lim Chu Kang is a planning area located in the northwestern part of the North Region of Singapore, bordering the Western Water Catchment to the west and south, Sungei Kadut to the east and the Straits of Johor to the north.
Jurong West is a planning area and residential town located in the West Region of Singapore. Jurong West shares boundaries with Tengah in the north, Jurong East in the east, Boon Lay and Pioneer in the south, and Western Water Catchment in the west.
Hong Kah Group Representation Constituency was a five-member Group Representation Constituency located in the western area of Singapore. The constituency covered the areas of Bukit Batok, Choa Chu Kang, Upper Bukit Timah, Jurong West and Lim Chu Kang. Hong Kah GRC was formed in 1988 and eventually dissolved and reformed into Chua Chu Kang GRC in 2011. It had always been held by the People's Action Party.
Singapore has about 65 species of mammals, 390 species of birds, 110 species of reptiles, 30 species of amphibians, more than 300 butterfly species, 127 dragonfly species, and over 2,000 recorded species of marine wildlife.
Pasir Laba Camp is a military base of the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) located in Western Water Catchment, Singapore. It is home to the Specialist and Warrant Officer Institute, where specialists and warrant officers are trained. There are other SAF training centres and units based in Pasir Laba Camp as well. Along with Sungei Gedong Camp in Lim Chu Kang, Pasir Laba Camp is one of two military bases in Singapore which control access to the SAFTI Live Firing Area in Western Water Catchment.
The Battle of Kranji was the second stage of the Empire of Japan's plan for the invasion of Singapore during the Second World War. On 9 February 1942 the Imperial Japanese Army assaulted the north-western front of Singapore, capital of the Straits Settlements.
SAFTI is a subzone of the Jurong West planning area of Singapore. It is home to the Pasir Laba Camp. It is also the training ground and a live-firing area for Singapore Armed Forces known as SAFTI Live Firing Area which is west of Pasir Laba Camp.
Tengah is a planning area and HDB town located within the West Region of Singapore. It is bound by Choa Chu Kang to the northeast, Jurong East and Jurong West to the south, Bukit Batok to the east, and the Western Water Catchment to its west and north.
Choa Chu Kang Road is a road in Singapore in two sections.
Sungei Kadut is an industrial estate and planning area located in the North Region of Singapore. It is bounded by Bukit Panjang and Choa Chu Kang to the south, Mandai to the east, as well as Lim Chu Kang and the Western Water Catchment to the west. Its northern boundary is defined by the Straits of Johor. Sungei Kadut is divided into five subzones, namely Kranji, Turf Club, Gali Batu, Pang Sua and Reservoir View.
The Chua Chu Kang Group Representation Constituency is a four-member Group Representation Constituency located in the western area of Singapore. There are four divisions of the GRC: Choa Chu Kang, Bukit Gombak, Keat Hong and Brickland. Military installations constitute a large part of the constituency managed by Chua Chu Kang Town Council, including most of the SAFTI Live Firing Area, Ama Keng and Neo Tiew military training areas and Murai Urban training facility. The current Members of Parliament are Don Wee, Gan Kim Yong, Low Yen Ling and Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim from the People's Action Party (PAP).
Jalan Bahar is a major arterial road from Lim Chu Kang Road to Jurong West Avenue 2; originally a Jurong Road to Lim Chu Kang Road link. It was opened on 9 April 1965 to connect the rural areas of Lim Chu Kang to the Jurong Industrial Estate. It also connects through the Pan Island Expressway.
Peng Kang Hill MRT station is a future elevated Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) station on the Jurong Region line in Western Water Catchment, Singapore.
Rural West Constituency was a constituency represented in the Legislative Council of Singapore from 1948 until 1951. It elected one Legislative Council member.
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