Construction firm fined $49k for causing Marine Parade flood
Shaffiq Alkhatib for The Straits Times
A construction firm that damaged a water main and caused a flood in Marine Parade in October 2024 was fined $49,000 on March 11.
In a statement on March 14, national water agency PUB said that Pal-Link Construction had damaged a potable water main and performed works within a water pipe corridor without prior approval on Oct 4, 2024.
The damage caused disruption when water flooded the nearby Marine Drive Housing Board estate.
This led to water loss of approximately 1.1 million gallons - the equivalent of two Olympic-sized swimming pools.
PUB said: "Investigations showed that Pal-Link, the contractor responsible for the construction of lift shafts for an existing pedestrian overhead bridge along Still Road South, did not seek prior approval to install temporary underground earth retaining structures in the vicinity of water mains.
"During the works, the contractor's excavator damaged the underground water main located at a depth of 1.8 metres."
Water then gushed out from the damaged 300mm diameter water main and flooded all four lanes of the adjacent Still Road South and the nearby Marine Drive estate.
PUB said that while it managed to isolate the leak to stop the flow, there was a build-up of traffic over 30 minutes.
The leftmost lane had to be closed for more than a day to facilitate urgent repair works.
A PUB spokesperson said: "The works required were complex, and the reinstatement of the damaged pipe and full reopening of Still Road South could only be completed the following day."
The incident also caused a lift breakdown at Block 67 Marine Drive due to water entering the lift shaft.
Business operations at a convenience store located in the same block were also disrupted for a few hours due to the flooding.
