Marina Barrage brings about three benefits: a source of water supply, flood control and a venue for lifestyle attraction.
Water Supply

Marina Barrage is a dam built across the 350-metre wide Marina Channel to keep out seawater, creating the 15th reservoir in downtown Singapore. Water from Local Catchment is one of the Four National Taps, with the other three being imported water, NEWater and desalinated water.
Flood Control

Marina Barrage is part of a comprehensive flood control scheme to alleviate flooding in the low-lying areas in the city such as Chinatown, Boat Quay, Jalan Besar and Geylang. During heavy rain, the series of nine crest gates at the dam are activated to release excess stormwater into the sea when the tide is low. In the case of high tide, giant pumps can drain excess stormwater into the sea.
Lifestyle Attraction

Unaffected by tides, water level in Marina Reservoir is kept constant all year round. This is ideal for all kinds of recreational activities such as boating, kayaking and dragonboating.