Sunset beside the Serangoon River, Punggol, Singapore - 20081031

Sungei Serangoon (

Malay Malay may refer to: Languages * Malay language or Bahasa Melayu, a major Austronesian language spoken in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore ** History of the Malay language, the Malay language from the 4th to the 14th century ** Indonesi ...

for Serangoon River;

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...

: 实龙岗河) is a

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...

in the

north-eastern The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each se ...

part of Singapore. The 8-kilometre river starts as a

canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface flow un ...

near Tampines Road, and flows through

Hougang Hougang is a planning area and mature residential town located in the North-East Region of Singapore. The town is the most populous in the region, being home to 247,528 residents as of 2018. Hougang planning area is bordered by Sengkang to th ...

, where it is joined by tributary Sungei Pinang just before

Sengkang Sengkang (, ta, செங்காங்) is a planning area and residential town located in the North-East Region of Singapore. The town is the second most populous in the region, being home to 249,370 residents in 2020. Sengkang shares ...

, before flowing towards

Lorong Halus Lorong Halus is an area in Pasir Ris surrounding a road of the same name. The road leads to industrial buildings and farms in Pasir Ris Farmway. It starts from the Tampines Expressway (TPE) and ends at a pier. There is a road from Lorong Halus tha ...

, where it is joined by another tributary Sungei Blukar, before emptying into the

Serangoon Harbour Serangoon () is a planning area and residential town located in the North-East Region of Singapore. Serangoon is bordered by these planning areas – Sengkang to the north, Hougang to the east, Ang Mo Kio and Bishan to the west, as well as ...

. The river is also known as the Serangoon Estuary. Since 2011, the river has been converted into a reservoir - Serangoon Reservoir.

Ecology

Smooth-coated otters (Lutrogale perspicillata), Sungei Serangoon, Singapore - 20130518

Although sections of the river have been canalized at Hougang and Lorong Halus, wildlife at the river is relatively unaffected. Birds like

heron The herons are long-legged, long-necked, freshwater and coastal birds in the family Ardeidae, with 72 recognised species, some of which are referred to as egrets or bitterns rather than herons. Members of the genera ''Botaurus'' and ''Ixobrychus ...

tern Terns are seabirds in the family Laridae that have a worldwide distribution and are normally found near the sea, rivers, or wetlands. Terns are treated as a subgroup of the family Laridae which includes gulls and skimmers and consists of e ...

kingfisher Kingfishers are a family, the Alcedinidae, of small to medium-sized, brightly colored birds in the order Coraciiformes. They have a cosmopolitan distribution, with most species found in the tropical regions of Africa, Asia, and Oceania, ...

s can still be found at the river. The area near Lorong Halus is considered one of the best

bird-watching Birdwatching, or birding, is the observing of birds, either as a recreational activity or as a form of citizen science. A birdwatcher may observe by using their naked eye, by using a visual enhancement device like binoculars or a telescope, by ...

spots in Singapore.

Monitor lizard Monitor lizards are lizards in the genus ''Varanus,'' the only extant genus in the family Varanidae. They are native to Africa, Asia, and Oceania, and one species is also found in the Americas as an invasive species. About 80 species are recogn ...

s and sometimes

otter Otters are carnivorous mammals in the subfamily Lutrinae. The 13 extant otter species are all semiaquatic, aquatic, or marine, with diets based on fish and invertebrates. Lutrinae is a branch of the Mustelidae family, which also includes wea ...

s can also be found near the

banks A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets. Becaus ...

. The stretch of the river near Hougang has a 2.2 km

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 ...

track (known as the Serangoon Park Connector) running along its western bank. Although this stretch is close to residential areas, a variety of garden, grassland and estuarine birds can still be found there.

Developments

A number of development projects at Sungei Serangoon had been carried out, which include the construction of an overhead bridge linking Old Tampines Road and the KPE expressway to Sengkang and the metal bridge linking Punggol East and Lorong Halus. Another significant project was the damming of the

estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environment ...

of Sungei Serangoon to form 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 2011.

References

Rivers of Singapore Hougang Pasir Ris Punggol Sengkang {{Singapore-geo-stub

Ecology

Developments

See also

References