30th August 2008 Field Trip to different parts of the Kallang River

On 30th August 2008, we set off to three different sections of the Kallang River to conduct our last water quality testing.

The first destination was the source of the Kallang River. Many people are not aware that the source of the Kallang River is not near Kallang, but at Lower Pierce Reservoir. Many thanks to Mrs Grace Leng, our parent volunteer, who brought us to see the source of the longest river in Singapore.
It was a first visit to Lower Peirce Reservoir to many of the students and the reservoir was so scenic and tranquil. It is unbelievable that there is such a little haven in Singapore. But when we reached the exact location of the river outlet, we were rather disappointed.
Why?
It was dry and there was no water flowing through it.
I guess it was the dry weather over the past few days that had resulted in the drought.
Still, we tested the water quality at the reservoir with our measuring equipment to test water parameters such as temperature, dissolved oxygen, PH value, salinity and turbity.

This time round, we tried using two methods : the Datalogger from the school and the Water Testing Kit used by International Water Association.
The results are being processed and the pupils are currently working on the report now.

Next, we proceeded to Bishan Park where we conducted our testing at the canals that flows downstream to the urban settlements. The water was full of algae and mosquito larvae. It was interersting to see that the surface of the water looks green and stagnant.

The final stop was at a bridge near St Andrew Secondary School. There the water was deeper and there were some big fish swimming in the canal too.

On the whole, we managed to complete our field trip and the students will be busy collating and interpreting their findings over the next month.
I enjoyed the field trip tremendously and I have learnt a lot from working with Mrs Grace Leng on this project.

We will complete the project work with final trip down to the Kallang River and do our part by helping to clean the river with the Waterways Watch Society, a volunteer group in Singapore.