Thimphu has a sparkling river flowing through it. The river Wangchhu serves multiple purposes starting from drinking, sanitation, agriculture, to hydropower downstream. Water from various streams upstream of Thimphu is tapped and supplied for various domestic purposes, making it the lifeline of the civilization in Thimphu.

However, as it passes through the human settlements the river is polluted with sewage overflow and leakages among others, compromising the quality of the water for any human use. This is mostly due to the absence of or inadequate infrastructure that is made worse by the behaviours of the communities causing sewerage to overflow into the waterbodies.

Among the various causes of water pollution, the high content of microbial concentration in the water is responsible for making it unsafe for domestic use, which is because of the sewerage discharge. The Wangchhu river that can otherwise be used adequately for all domestic purposes along it stretch downstream is now considered unsafe. If the causes of pollution are not address now, we will lose the opportunity to revive it with the current trend of development in Thimphu.

Bhutan Toilet Organization as the only civil society organization working for the sanitation cause is deeply concerned by the issue. We have taken it up with various regulating authorities to address the issue, however the government agencies alone cannot fix the issue without the participation of the communities, which is why we have taken up this cause as a civil society.

Bhutan Toilet Organization support the government efforts in addressing the sewage leakages into the waterbodies by engaging the settlements living along the tributaries in protecting the streams through various strategies, including mapping of the defaulters, engaging them in the process and forming community clubs to self-police.

In the settlements with inadequate sewer infrastructure, which are beyond the reach of main sewer system, we shall pilot Johkasou, a self-treating septic tank technology from Japan to enable household and communities to independently manage their sewer.
We will validate and make use of data on the existing status of water quality, educate communities through awareness campaigns, activate authorities on laws and penalties, bring in technology interventions and ultimately make the Wangchhu river drinkable again.

This shall set Thimphu apart from the rest of the urban cities in the world in terms of conservation of fresh water river flowing through it and become an example to follow for the rest of the towns in Bhutan.