Innovative Solutions for Protecting Singapore’s Coastlines
Singapore is exploring various solutions to safeguard its coastlines against rising sea levels, according to The Straits Times.
One of the ways includes exploring a flexible seawall with adjustable heights. Beyond protecting against erosion, it allows for integration with infrastructure such as roads or parks. The seawall can also be used to separate water bodies to form a coastal reservoir that can be used as a water catchment area to reduce inland flooding and for freshwater storage.
Professor Chu Jian, Chair of the School and the project’s principal investigator, said the flexible seawall will also be more cost-effective as less material is needed to build it.
“If you integrate it for other uses, the overall cost will be much cheaper as it also provides infrastructure,” he said.
The three-year project, which started in November 2023, mainly focuses on the design and modelling of the wall.
Another project under Professor Chu involves lining the shoreline with tube-like barriers made of natural materials. Resembling sandbags, each barrier has its outer covering made of plant fibre such as jute.
The barrier is filled with a mixture of sand, soya bean powder and calcium ions that will be cemented together to form an erosion-resistant “rock” after the barrier has been placed. Overtime, as seawater seeps into the beams, the natural fibres will decompose. But ions from the water will react with the material inside the barrier to make it sturdier.
Such barriers made with environmentally friendly materials are suited for coastlines with fragile ecosystems such as mangroves and intertidal habitats.
