Upper Seletar Reservoir ( ms, Takungan Air Upper Seletar,

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 va ...

: 实里达蓄水池上段) is

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 ...

's third impounding

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 ...

, after

MacRitchie Reservoir MacRitchie Reservoir is Singapore's oldest reservoir. The reservoir was completed in 1868 by impounding water from an earth embankment, and was then known as the Impounding Reservoir or Thomson Reservoir. History Before the early 19th centu ...

and Peirce Reservoir (now the

Upper Peirce Reservoir Upper Peirce Reservoir ( Chinese: 贝雅士蓄水池上段) is Singapore's fourth reservoir. The 6-hectare Upper Peirce Reservoir Park overlooks the Upper Peirce Reservoir. History Originally known as the Kallang River Reservoir, Singapore's sec ...

and the

Lower Peirce Reservoir The Lower Peirce Reservoir (Chinese: 贝雅士蓄水池下段 Malay: ''Takungan Air Lower Peirce'') is one of the oldest reservoirs in Singapore. It is located near MacRitchie Reservoir and Upper Peirce Reservoir. Previously known as Kallang Riv ...

). It is located within the

Central Water Catchment The Central Water Catchment, also known as the Central Catchment Area, is a designated planning area and one of the two main water catchments of Singapore. The country's main reservoirs – MacRitchie, Upper Seletar, Upper Peirce and Lower ...

area of Singapore island.

History

Upper Seletar Reservoir was formerly known as the ''Seletar Reservoir'', before the completion of the

Lower Seletar Reservoir Lower Seletar Reservoir (Chinese: 实里达蓄水池下段 ; ms, Takungan Air Seletar Bawah) is a reservoir located in the northern part of Singapore, to the east of Yishun New Town. The reservoir has a surface area of 3.6 km², and a capa ...

near Nee Soon, formed by the

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use ...

ming up of the

mouth In animal anatomy, the mouth, also known as the oral cavity, or in Latin cavum oris, is the opening through which many animals take in food and issue vocal sounds. It is also the cavity lying at the upper end of the alimentary canal, bounded on ...

of Seletar River, in 1986. The Seletar Reservoir was built to meet the surge in water demand after

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. Built while D. J. Murnane was Municipal Water Engineer, a contemporary description of the project scope and construction in 1939 is included in the footnote. The construction work was overseen by Murnane's deputy F. G. Hill. It was completed in 1940 and officially opened on 10 August 1969 by Princess Alexandra.

Highlights

The Upper Seletar Reservoir Park, formerly known as Seletar Reservoir Park, covers a large expanse of open space on the eastern side of the reservoir. The 15-

hectare The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100-metre sides (1 hm2), or 10,000 m2, and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. An acre is a ...

park A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are urban green space, green spaces set aside for recreation inside t ...

was completed in 1973. It features a viewing

tower A tower is a tall Nonbuilding structure, structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant factor. Towers are distinguished from guyed mast, masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting ...

, and is a frequent venue for joggers, walkers and

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 ...

enthusiasts. Formerly, Hash Harriers and

horse rider Equestrianism (from Latin , , , 'horseman', 'horse'), commonly known as horse riding (Commonwealth English) or horseback riding (American English), includes the disciplines of riding, driving, and vaulting. This broad description includes the ...

s visited the Upper Seletar Reservoir Park as well. The

Singapore Zoo The Singapore Zoo, formerly known as the Singapore Zoological Gardens or Mandai Zoo, is a zoo located on the margins of Upper Seletar Reservoir within Singapore's heavily forested Central Water Catchment, central catchment area. Opened in 1973 ...

, formerly known as Singapore Zoological Gardens, the Night Safari and the Mandai

Orchid Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Along with the Asteraceae, they are one of the two largest families of flowering ...

Garden are located on the margins of the Upper Seletar Reservoir. It is said there are crocodiles currently living in the reservoir, however no concrete evidence have been found, as all past reports were based on eyewitnesses accounts. Nonetheless, signboards with "Beware of Crocodile" have been placed along various locations at the sides of the reservoir.

References

*Norman Edwards and Peter Keys (1996), ''Singapore - A Guide to Buildings, Streets and Places'', Times Books International,

External links

National Parks Board, Singapore
{{Parks in Singapore Reservoirs in Singapore Parks in Singapore Central Water Catchment

History

Highlights

See also

References

External links