First city reservoir opens
Saturday, 1st November 2008
The Marina Barrage has created Marina Reservoir, the 15th reservoir here and the first one in the heart of the city - the most densely built-up part of the island. This reservoir and two other new ones will raise the portion of the country's land area used for water catchment from half to two-thirds. The idea of damming the mouth of the Marina Channel to create a freshwater lake came from Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew in 1987, when he was prime minister. That was the year the massive clean-up of the Singapore River was completed, and fish had returned to it.