Building owners encouraged to reduce water consumption

Clean and well-maintained buildings help create a conducive living and working environment for all ("Postpone repainting of buildings to save water" by Mr Allen Chang; Forum Online, Aug 26).

Thus, all building owners are expected to upkeep their buildings, including carrying out repair and repainting works.

Under the Building Maintenance and Strata Management (Lift and Building Maintenance) Regulations, all building owners are responsible for ensuring that their buildings are neat and tidy in appearance.

Furthermore, the painted external walls of buildings are required to be repainted at intervals not exceeding five years. Any extension is subject to the approval of the Commissioner of Buildings.

We agree with Mr Chang that water conservation is important, especially during periods of dry weather.

We encourage building owners to reduce water consumption when they carry out washing activities during repainting.

They should also adopt water-saving measures during their regular cleaning and maintenance works.

These could include stopping floor washing or reducing the frequency of washing if floor washing is unavoidable, and not using high-pressure jets and hoses for any washing activities.

We seek the support of building owners to exercise discretion to reduce water wastage, while ensuring that the general building appearance and environment are kept clean.

Lim Chong Yong

Director, Building Management Department

Building and Construction Authority

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