September 06: Building owners in Thimphu will soon have to clean their water tanks once a year. This has been initiated by the City Corporation to safeguard the health of the people.

The City Corporation says this will also help make optimum use of the available drinking water. With the population growing and a boom in construction, water scarcity is becoming a common problem in the capital town.

The City Corporation is also recommending building owners to use float valves to conserve the water.

Napheel Drukpa is an Executive Engineer in the water supply section of the Thimphu City Corporation said that, it is important to clean the water tank. He said overtime, dirt will start accumulating and the water will be contaminated if the tanks are not cleaned. He said this will have an adverse effect on the health of the general public.

The Thimphu City Corporation will visit building owners soon starting with those who consume larger quantities of water to ensure that the tanks are cleaned. They will also distribute pamphlets to create awareness on the conservation of water and maintaining health and hygiene.

Thimphu has more than 2,500 water pipe connections and consumes about eight thousand cubic meters of water in a day.