General View of the main canal and
dam is being raised a further 10 ft. and the lake surface area raised 6
ft. and extended to cover 10 sq. miles, with a maximum depth of 35 ft. 6 in.. enabling a maximum daily supply of 549 million gallons of water, as compared to the present 395 million gallons.
Another major aspect of the pro- ject is the replacement of an bankment at a level 10 ft. higher,
77
em-
Selinsing canal (foreground), just below
and 19 ft. wide. to carry a 2 mile stretch of the main railway across the reservoir. This work will cost M$2 million. When the new em- bankment is completed, the present embankment will be submerged in the deeper and extended lake.
Other work involved in Phase One includes:
Raising the 1,300 ft. long earth bunds between the two existing spill-
New intake at Kubu Gajah seen from downstream.
the new intake structure at Kubu Gajah.
ways and replacing the spillways at the southern toe of the bund;
A new intake to the main canal; Raising a 7 mile stretch of the main canal banks (total length 21 miles) and construction of two new regulators in the main canal;
Construction of a new concrete Alume, carrying a roadway, where the main canal passes the Sungei Kurau, and replacing the 60-year-old syphon under the river bed at a cost of M$1.2 million:
Several new offtakes from the main canal to replace the old struc- tures:
Reconstruction of river bunds at various points;
Reconstruction of 11 miles of the old 30-mile coastal bund to pro- tect the padi fields from tidal inun- dation; and
Reconstruction of 40 miles of drains and distributaries.
At present, the Bukit Merah re- servoir supplies the padi fields through 50 miles of main canals and 253 miles of distributaries which form the irrigation network, and an- other 260 miles of drains that form the drainage system.
A total of 68 miles of river and coastal bunds protect the padi fields from floods, both from rivers and coastal tides.
Works scheduled for this year are mainly the completion of works in
Far East Architect & Builder May, 1905