How to make sure you're compliant with water regulations

To protect your water supply from contamination, it's important that your fixtures and fittings are correctly installed and in a good state of repair.

The Water Supply (Water Fittings) Regulations (1999) set out national requirements for the design, materials, installation and maintenance of plumbing systems, water fittings and water-using appliances. As a business, it is your legal duty to ensure your systems satisfy these requirements.

The purpose of these regulations is to protect your drinking water supply from contamination, and prevent inefficient use of water or incorrect measurement of it. The regulations apply in England and Wales to all plumbing systems, water fittings and equipment supplied, or to be supplied, with water from the public water supply.

Here are our top 5 tips for ensuring your premises is compliant.

  1. Ensure all your plumbing systems are properly designed, installed and maintained to meet the requirements of the regulations.
  2. Ensure you've got the appropriate devices fitted to prevent backflow of water towards the supply source. To protect public health, the regulations require adequate protection to stop this backflow from any part of your system (such as taps, hoses, equipment or processes where water can come into contact with materials, chemicals or fluids which could potentially contaminate it).
  3. Use a Watersafe approved plumber who will be familiar with the regulations, be sure that you receive a certificate for the work carried out. If breaches of regulations are then found in the certified work, the legal responsibility falls upon the approved plumber and not on the owner or occupier.
  4. If you have had a Water Regulations inspection, then you will be provided with a report detailing actions that you need to take, as well as any timescales for which the work needs to be completed. You have a legal obligation to ensure that this work is carried out. If you fail to comply with the requirements of the inspection report then you could find yourself liable for legal action, fines and charges.
  5. We can help you comply with the regulations . We can assist you with sourcing the relevant contractors to carry out works that meet the requirements on your behalf and provide quotes for the required work, as well as answering individual queries about the interpretation of the regulations.