Takeoff for Bird-shaped Water Project

Quite lovely....

Pretty, now if they can just ensure it doesn't erode like the ones in Dubai......

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/dubai/8271643/The-World-is-sinking-Dubai-islands-falling-into-the-sea.html

Should keep the sea water out & the crap in....its a win win! All hail Garuda!

In one of the worlds most active earthquake zones a new outer sea wall could probably be built to withstand an earthquake. It would protect the city from the worst of a tsunami but in the likely event of a tsunami topping the outer wall millions of tones of sea water would spill into the fresh water lake that is intended to become the city's primary water supply, thus making it undrinkable. An adequate supply of uncontaminated drinking water is the biggest problem in quake affected areas. Greater even than the provision of food, medicine and shelter. With a population the size of Jakarta the consequences of the fresh water lagoon becoming contaminated, either through a tsunami or the failure of just one of the many proposed effluent treatment plants, will be catastrophic.

Let's see - if they have a catastrophe, a tsunami topping the outer wall, they will have a catastrophe. Pretty much what I think you said.

I would think the slim chance they might have to find fresh water for millions would be a better scenario than having millions killed and billions in structural damage to replace, for which the chance of occurrence is much greater. What is your point here? Don't build it and take a chance on a tsunami directly hitting the city? Either way you have the fresh water issue. With the wall you have many more surviving.

When space is at a premium you have to take what you can get.

the outer sea wall will be designed to withstand a 1-in-10,000-year sea event

Regardless, I would think the new fresh water lakes would NOT be the only water source available they could turn to in an emergency.