Yangon to Fine Up to K500,000 for Illegal Water Use

Yangon City to Impose Fines of Up to 500,000 Kyats for Illegal Water Tapping

November 12

The Water and Sanitation Engineering Department of the Yangon City Development Committee has announced that anyone who drills water pipes to steal water without permission, connects secondary pipes to authorized water lines, or illegally obtains and uses water within Yangon City will face fines ranging from 100,000 to 500,000 kyats.

To ensure residents of Yangon City have access to drinking water, treated water from water sources and water treatment plants is being delivered by large pumping stations through transmission pipelines to reservoirs and township-level distribution networks.

In that distribution system, it is prohibited to drill water pipes and connect water into homes without permission, to install secondary pipes branching off authorized water lines, to use electric motors (or) hand pumps to draw additional water, and to change or extend the type, size, and number of originally installed water and sanitation fittings without permission.

If such violations are found upon inspection, fines ranging from 100,000 to 500,000 kyats will be imposed under Section 136, Sub-section (g) of the 2018 Yangon City Development Law, according to the announcement.