WATER IN THE CITY

Abstract

Urban Heat Island (UHI) is defined as a phenomenon of which higher air and surface temperatures occur in urban centres due to the retention and emissions of solar heat from roads, buildings and other structures, than in surrounding rural areas (Arizona Development Services, 2006). Like other urbanised cities, UHI is a growing concern in Singapore. Temperature on this island increased by 10C (Eco-Business, 2010) in 2010. To combat this growing phenomenon, cities have turned to increasing vegetation cover in the form of urban forests and parks. In Singapore, the lack of land space makes it difficult for the government to allocate large area for greenery. Instead, the trend is that of the seamless incorporation of innovative ways of greenery into the urban landscape. This comes with much success even as Singapore is now 50% covered by greenery (National Parks). As compared to the focus given on the use of greenery, the use of water features as a cooling source has not been given much attention. Yet, the “liberal use of features… can help cool the environment” as mentioned by Professor Matthias Roth (Eco-Business, 2010). Hence, this report will focus on the cooling impact of water features in this on the environment in this “heat island”. Three types of common features were selected – water fountain, water pond and the Singapore river (also known as an urban river). Field measurements were taken to analyse the actual impact these three water feature has on the environment. Meanwhile, thermal comfort questionnaires were distributed to people around the area. The questionnaires aim to evaluate occupants’ response to the immediate environment. Analyses of these data sets were done and the water features under study were ranked to determine the most successful water feature in bringing about cooling. The water fountain was deemed to be the best water feature, followed by the Singapore River and finally, the water pond.