Bedok Reservoir ( ms, Empangan Bedok, , ta, பெடோக் நீர்த்தேக்கம்) is a
reservoir
A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation.
Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...
in the eastern part of
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
, to the north of
Bedok
Bedok () is a planning area and matured residential town located in the geographical region of Tanah Merah along the south-eastern coast of the East Region of Singapore. Bedok is bounded by five other planning areas: Paya Lebar to the north, ...
. The reservoir has a surface area of 880,000 m², and a capacity of 12.8 million m³. The mean depth of the reservoir is 9 m, with a maximum depth of 18.2 m. The shoreline length is 4.3 km.
History
![Aerial perspective of Bedok Reservoir](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3a/Aerial_perspective_of_Bedok_Reservoir._Shot_in_2014.jpg)
The reservoir was first announced in 1980 as part of a water supply scheme. It was converted from a sand quarry that was used by the Housing and Development Board (HDB). Construction of the reservoir began in 1983, with the construction of a deep pumping station and a perimeter road. The reservoir was completed in June 1985, and it began operations later that year.
Reservoir
![Bedok Reservoir, panorama 2, Oct 06](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f5/Bedok_Reservoir%2C_panorama_2%2C_Oct_06.jpg)
Bedok Reservoir is now open to water sports activities such as
wakeboarding
Wakeboarding is a water sport in which the rider, standing on a wakeboard (a board with foot bindings), is towed behind a motorboat across its wake and especially up off the crest in order to perform aerial maneuvers. A hallmark of wakeboardin ...
,
sailing
Sailing employs the wind—acting on sails, wingsails or kites—to propel a craft on the surface of the ''water'' (sailing ship, sailboat, raft, windsurfer, or kitesurfer), on ''ice'' (iceboat) or on ''land'' (land yacht) over a chosen cour ...
, Forest Adventure
fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...
,
canoeing
Canoeing is an activity which involves paddling a canoe with a single-bladed paddle. Common meanings of the term are limited to when the canoeing is the central purpose of the activity. Broader meanings include when it is combined with other acti ...
and
kayaking
Kayaking is the use of a kayak for moving over water. It is distinguished from canoeing by the sitting position of the paddler and the number of blades on the paddle. A kayak is a low-to-the-water, canoe-like boat in which the paddler sits fac ...
. This follows the
Singapore Sports Council
Sport Singapore (SportSG) is a statutory board under the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth of the Government of Singapore. It is the lead agency tasked with developing a holistic sports culture for the nation.
History
Sport Singapore was ...
's (SSC's) efforts to allow water sport enthusiasts to make use of the various reservoirs for activities which do not compromise the quality of the water. The programme kicked off with the
HSBC
HSBC Holdings plc is a British multinational universal bank and financial services holding company. It is the largest bank in Europe by total assets ahead of BNP Paribas, with US$2.953 trillion as of December 2021. In 2021, HSBC had $10.8 tri ...
Wakeboard World Cup Singapore 2004, held at Bedok Reservoir on 30–31 October 2004 and this was the first international water sports event to be held at a local reservoir.
![Flyging gliders at Bedok Reservoir 2008-01-19](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/42/Flyging_gliders_at_Bedok_Reservoir_2008-01-19.jpg)
The hill on the west part of Bedok Reservoir is a popular place to fly model
gliders.
Bedok Reservoir Park
![PlumeriaRubra-Singapore-20020328](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/87/PlumeriaRubra-Singapore-20020328.jpg)
The Bedok Reservoir Park was developed around the reservoir. The park is equipped with a jogging track, a children's playground, fitness stations and open fields. The park is popular for outdoor activities like
inline skating
Inline skating is a multi-disciplinary sport and can refer to a number of activities practiced using inline skates. Inline skates typically have two to five polyurethane wheels depending on the style of practice, arranged in a single line by a ...
,
cycling
Cycling, also, when on a two-wheeled bicycle, called bicycling or biking, is the use of cycles for transport, recreation, exercise or sport. People engaged in cycling are referred to as "cyclists", "bicyclists", or "bikers". Apart from two ...
, fishing and
jogging
Jogging is a form of trotting or running at a slow or leisurely pace. The main intention is to increase physical fitness with less stress on the body than from faster running but more than walking, or to maintain a steady speed for longer periods ...
. Jog A Walk Activities are held regularly at the park by schools and organisations.
Bedok Reservoir Park is also home t
Forest Adventure the largest tree top adventure park in Singapore. It comprises series of 69 obstacles at height and 4 giant zip lines over the water.
The park has six venues that can be booked for private events: the Floating Deck (area of 1,320 sq.m, capacity of up to 240 people.), Activity Lawn (area of 3600 sq m, capacity of up to 2,000 persons), Jogging Track (4.3 kilometres long), Reservoir Vista (area of 3,600 sq.m, capacity of up to 2,000 persons), Reservoir Lawn (area of 13,200 sq. m, capacity of up to 5000 persons) and Viewing Gallery (area of 432 sq.m, capacity of up to 150 persons). The park is accessible via Bedok Reservoir Road. The current tenants are Forest Adventure and WAWAWA - Bistro by The Reservoir.
Events
![Singapore-Bedok-Reservoir](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/54/Singapore-Bedok-Reservoir.jpg)
The Launch of Water Sports Activity was held on 17 October 2004. It marked the first time water activities could be held in a local reservoir. The Guest of Honour,
George Yeo
George Yeo Yong-Boon ( zh, s=杨荣文, p=Yáng Róngwén; born 13 September 1954) is a Singaporean former politician and brigadier-general who served as Minister for Foreign Affairs between 2004 and 2011.
Yeo served in the Singapore Army an ...
(former
Minister of Foreign Affairs
A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...
and MP for
Aljunied GRC
The Aljunied Group Representation Constituency is a five-member group representation constituency (GRC) in the north-eastern and eastern region of Singapore. The GRC consists of five divisions: Eunos, Bedok Reservoir-Punggol, Kaki Bukit, Sera ...
) flagged off canoe racing during the event.
The HSBC Wakeboard World Cup Singapore 2004, was held at Bedok Reservoir on 30–31 October 2004. This was the first international water sports event to be held at a local reservoir.
The Wakeboard World Cup Singapore 2007 was held on 22 and 23 September 2007 during the Singapore leg of the World Cup Series. It stopped at
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
and
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
first before ending at
Qatar
Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it sh ...
. It was organised by the Singapore Waterski & Wakeboard Federation.
The world premier of
Hydro Sapiens by The Lunatics was held from 20 to 22 June 2008 as part of the
Singapore Arts Festival
Singapore International Festival of Arts (SIFA) is an annual arts festival held in Singapore. It is organised bArts House Limitedfor the National Arts Council. The festival is usually held in mid-year for a stretch of one month and incorporates t ...
. The Singapore Dragon Boat Festival was held from 28 to 29 June 2008.
The weekly Saturday
parkrun
Parkrun (stylised as parkrun) is a collection of events for walkers, runners and volunteers that take place every Saturday morning at more than 2,000 locations in 23 countries across six continents. Junior Parkrun (stylised as junior parkrun) ...
takes place at Bedok Reservoir. Organized by volunteers, the 5km run welcomes all runners with all fitness levels.
Incident
In September 2014, a Temasek Polytechnic student was practicing kayaking in Bedok Reservoir when his boat capsized, making him fall into the water. Immediately after falling into the water, he felt fish biting his feet. He then swam to a nearby pontoon and had gaping cuts around his toes on his right foot after reaching the pontoon. Biologists claimed that the cuts could be caused by attacks from aggressive turtles or fish in the reservoir. However, more attacks of the same kind were reported over the next three months. As a result, sporting and recreational activities were suspended at Bedok Reservoir from 17 December 2014 to 16 January 2015. During the suspension, several types of predatory fish not indigenous to Singapore were caught, including
African walking catfish,
peacock bass
Peacock bass or Brazilian tucunaré are large freshwater cichlids of the genus ''Cichla''. These are diurnal predatory fishes native to the Amazon and Orinoco basins, as well as rivers of the Guianas, in tropical South America. They are someti ...
,
tarpon
Tarpons are fish of the genus ''Megalops''. They are the only members of the family Megalopidae. Of the two species, one (''M. atlanticus'') is native to the Atlantic, and the other (''M. cyprinoides'') to the Indo-Pacific Oceans.
Species a ...
,
armoured sucker catfish and
giant snakehead
''Channa micropeltes'', giant snakehead, giant mudfish or toman harimau, is among the largest species in the family Channidae, capable of growing to in length and a weight of . It is native to the fresh waters of Southeast Asia (South Indian popu ...
. As the invasive fish species were not native to Singapore, they were likely illegally released into the reservoir. The government has issued advisories to those entering the waters, and severe fines and penalties have been imposed for those releasing fish here.
References
External links
Bedok Reservoir Park
{{Parks in Singapore
Reservoirs in Singapore
Bedok