File photo shows Mailwoman Bamu (R) drinks a cup of tea at a herdsmen's home in a village in Nyima County of Nagqu Prefecture, southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, June 11, 2015. (Xinhua/Chogo)

About 99% of rural residents in Tibet have access to safe drinking water.

Southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region has been making efforts to provide safe drinking water to the rural residents and the problem of safe drinking water in its agricultural and pastoral areas has been solved, according to the local water conservancy department.

Tibet has launched safe drinking water projects in its vast agricultural and pastoral areas and built water supply facilities to reduce diseases and promote the economic and social development in the rural areas across the region.

Thanks to these efforts, about 99 percent of rural residents have access to safe drinking water, the regional water conservancy department said.

Last year, the region invested nearly 2 billion yuan (about 282 million U.S. dollars) in safe drinking water projects, benefiting a total of 490,000 people.

The regional water conservancy department said Tibet would continue to attach importance to the protection of water sources and water quality treatment, strengthen the protection of rural drinking water sources, and improve the water quality monitoring system.

Tibet aims to ensure about 80 percent of its rural residents have tap water supply at the end of 2020.