Rivers of Singapore - 5 Important Rivers That Flow Through the Lion City

1. Singapore River - Main River of Singapore

One of the principal rivers of Singapore is the Singapore River, natively known as 'Sungai Singapura'. It originates at Kim Seng Bridge as Alexandra Canal and presently lies in the city's central region. The 3.2 km long starts from Kim Seng Bridge at Esplanade, where it enters the Marina Channel and flows out to the Singapore Strait. The river shares its boundaries with River Valley and Museum, Tanglin and Bukit Merah, Outram, and the Downtown Core.

The area around the Singapore River was a center of trade and commerce as the city grew around a port for more than a century, and even now, the Downtown Core to its east is still Singapore’s Central Business District and Financial Hub. Various myths and legends associate themselves with the Singapore River, namely the early civilization in this place by the Javanese Majapahit Empire or when the Malayan princes once sailed away and stomped their bullock carts on the bank.

This beautiful river of Singapore is now being used to create new freshwater by damming its outlet into the sea by the Marina Barrage dam.

2. Kallang River - Longest River of Singapore

The Kallang River, also called Sungei Kallang in Malay, is the longest river in Singapore. This river is 10 km long and starts from the Lower Peirce Reservoir via Ang Mo Kio, Bishan, Toa Payoh, and Geylang Bahru, extending up to the Kallang Basin, which is further linked to the Marina Channel. Sungei Whampoa, the Pelton Canal, and the Bukit Timah Second Diversion Canal are the tributaries of the Kallang River.

Kallang derived its name from one of Singapore’s earliest settlers, orang Kallang, who were skillful boat dwellers and had their home in the swamps of the river Kallang in the 1500s. The industries along this river of Singapore were famous for the Gasworks, powdered street lighting, garments, and printing materials.

Some other famous landmarks along this Singapore River are the Kallang Airport Building, the National Stadium, Merdeka Bridge, and Sri Manmatha Karuneshvarar Temple.

3. Rochor River

Rochor River is a small but famous river in Singapore. It is about 0.8 km long and a canalized river in Kallang. Rochor Canal is the 1.1-km stretch between Jalan Besar and Crawford Street, and Rochor River is a continuation of the Rochor Canal. It begins beneath Victoria Bridge and empties into the Kallang Basin.

The source of this river of Singapore lies in Beauty World MRT station, which is an underground Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) station on the Downtown Line in Bukit Timah. It is even expanded and reduced accordingly to control the floods in Bukit Timah. The Rochor River has been made dirty and polluted a lot, but recently, it has developed into a clean and beautiful riverfront ­­– complete with benches, malls, plazas, and rain gardens where people can come, walk, and spend time. The infrastructure and transportation alongside the river have also improved a lot.

Along the Rochor River canal are rubber factories, ice works, and different types of markets like the Sungei Road Thieves’ Market and Singapore’s oldest flea market. Some other landmarks are the Malabar Mosque, the Church of Our Lady of Lourdes, Madrasah Aljunied Al-Islamiah, and the Jalan Kubor cemetery.

4. Geylang River

Geylang River, also called Sungei Geylang in Malay, is a canalized river of Singapore flowing from Geylang to Kallang in the Central Region. The river originates in Ubi as Geylang Canal, flowing through Geylang Road, Guillemard Road, and Dunman Road. It finally empties into the Kallang Basin near Tanjong Rhu in the southern part of Kallang.

The Geylang River, too, shares a history with the Orang Laut group. It was created when, in the 1840s, the British moved the villages of Orang Laut, which were located at the mouth of the Singapore River, to the banks of the Geylang River.

The Geylang River in Singapore has also gone through a years-long revamp initiated by the Public Utilities Board (PUB) program.

5. Sungei Serangoon

River Serangoon, also called Sungei Serangoon, is a river in the north-eastern part of Singapore. Approximately 8 km in length, it starts as a canal near Tampines Road and flows through Hougang, where this river of Singapore joins it just before Sengkang. Then, it is joined by another tributary, Sungei Blukar, before flowing towards Lorong Halus and then finally empties itself into the Serangoon Harbour. Sungei Serangoon is also known as the Serangoon Estuary as the river has been converted into a reservoir - Serangoon Reservoir, since 2011.

Several development activities have been taken at Sungei Serangoon to date like the construction of an overhead bridge linking Old Tampines Road and the KPE expressway, the metal bridge linking Punggol East and Lorong Halus, and the damming of the estuary of Sungei Serangoon.

Redevelopment of the Rivers in Singapore

The British settled in Singapore in 1819, more than a century ago. Since then, the Singapore River and its banks have been the focal points of all global and regional trade passing the island. Rivers in Singapore have been facing several threats ranging from developmental activities to pollution, which has negatively impacted the biodiversity of river habitats.

River pollution has become a significant problem in Singapore as all kinds of garbage, sewage, and industrial waste are dumped in the rivers.

For many years, the government has been studying the state of the rivers in Singapore and how they can improve the condition of these rivers and solve various problems. Different steps, projects and ideas are launched, and the officials are working on it for the betterment of the ecological conditions of the rivers.

Main Objectives of the River Cleanup:

• Removal and deposition of polluting sources that are formed by domestic, commercial, and industrial wastes
• Development of infrastructure, which is necessary
• Taking care of the water supply, sanitation, wastewater treatment, and electricity
• Strict law enforcement
• Cleaning and dredging of waterways
• Awareness programs so that the population becomes aware of the overall development programs in the city.

Singapore has many things, from multiple cultures to massive skyscrapers and beautiful attractions. The rivers in Singapore are another decorative element that adds to the beauty of this ever-growing city.