MacRitchie Reservoir
MacRitchie Reservoir | |
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Coordinates | 1°20′37″N 103°49′52″E / 1.34361°N 103.83111°E |
Lake type | Reservoir |
MacRitchie Reservoir is
History
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Before the early 19th century, most of the main island of Singapore was covered with primary forest. Soon after the British established a settlement in Singapore in 1819 and commercial activity took root, there was a demand for fresh water. However, it was decades before the settlement's first fresh water supply was established.
James MacRitchie (26 September 1847 – 26 April 1895) was Municipal Engineer to the Singapore Municipal Commission from 1883 to 1895. An original ‘foreign talent’, MacRitchie began his engineering career in Scotland and worked in India, Japan and Brazil before Singapore. Among his many accomplishments as municipal engineer, he is best known for the upgrading and expansion of Singapore's first reservoir, known as the Impounding Reservoir, in 1891-94. The reservoir was renamed in his honour in 1922.
In 1927, a water treaty was signed with the Sultan of Johor and Singapore started receiving treated water from the Gunong Pulai water project Johor in 1930.
The construction of MacRitchie Reservoir brought deforestation around the area to a halt. The forest surrounding the reservoir has been protected as a water catchment reserve. The forested areas surrounding the other two reservoirs, Pierce Reservoir and Upper Seletar Reservoir (formerly Seletar Reservoir), were also protected when these reservoirs were developed.
During World War II, after the invading Japanese troops seized Bukit Timah from the defending British, the reservoir lay just beyond in their sights. Although it was successfully captured intact shortly after, the Japanese did not cut off the water supply from the reservoir, although slight damage to the reservoir's facilities like the pumping-stations meant much water was lost instead of being channelled to the city, by then crowded with almost one million British-commanded troops and refugees, which was badly in need for a steady water source. After the British surrender and the subsequent
Present
More than one square kilometre of primary forest is still standing in Central Catchment Nature Reserve today, particularly around MacRitchie Reservoir. Forest trees, remnants of the plantations from the 20th century, can still be seen along the fringes of MacRitchie Reservoir.
There are
The boardwalk around the perimeter of the MacRitchie Reservoir brings the visitor through interesting
In addition to the boardwalk, another popular attraction is the
The 3.2 km and 4.8 km trails are still used as cross-country running routes for various inter-school competitions today.
Schools can be seen using the reservoir as a place for water sports such as canoeing and kayaking. There are certain competitions held there annually.
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The suspension bridge as part of the treetop walk
See also
- Central Catchment Nature Reserve
- Syonan Jinja
References
- ^ "MacRitchie Reservoir". lkcnhm.nus.edu.sg. Archived from the original on 15 December 2018. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
- ^ Sherlock Sam and the Cloaked Classmate in MacRitchie Retrieved on 1 July 2019
- ^ "MacRitchie Reservoir Park". National Parks Board. Archived from the original on 5 February 2017. Retrieved 20 January 2017.
- G. Uma Devi (2002). Singapore's 100 historical places. National Heritage Board. ISBN 978-981-4068-23-9.