The UK enjoys a very high quality of drinking water, and a whole host of different groups of people across the country have been reminded of regulations that exist to ensure those high standards are maintained.
Water Regulations Body, WRAS, and UK water companies have come together to enforce the message that anyone planning plumbing work needs to be up-to-speed on UK water laws and their responsibilities, before starting any work.
Who Do The Regulations Apply To?
The Water Supply (Water Fittings) Regulations exist to keep drinking water supplies safe and healthy, and to assist with this, some work on new and existing plumbing systems needs to be notified to the relevant water organisations before it commences. The regulations apply to new buildings, extensions and everyday plumbing work in both domestic properties and commercial buildings, and as such, the responsibility does not just lie with the plumber alone, but also with building contractors, business owners, landlords, tenants and regular homeowners.
It is felt that not enough people are aware of their legal responsibilities, according to Julie Spinks of WRAS (Water Regulations Advisory Scheme), who reminds us that getting suitable permission for the specified work is free and relatively simple. It is your local water supplier who needs to be contacted and notified of the work in question, and failure to do so could result in:
Extra cost to the work
Contamination of water supplies
Court prosecution
Some examples of the types of plumbing work that water suppliers now need to be informed of include:
Building a new property or other structure
Extensively changing the use of a building, including the installation of a new water system
Installing a swimming pool or pond over 10,000 litres in capacity
Changing the design of a water system in a non-domestic building
Installing an automated or semi-automated garden watering system
Installing or redesigning a water treatment unit which produces waste water in a domestic, commercial or industrial building
There are many further examples of plumbing work which needs to be notified to a local water supplier, and in Scotland and Northern Ireland there are even further requirements, so to avoid any doubt, anybody seeking to undertake plumbing work is strongly advised to seek the right permissions. Please contact us for more information.