Who has to comply with the regulations?
Owners and occupiers of premises and anyone who installs plumbing systems or water fittings have the legal duty to ensure that the systems satisfy the regulations. Advanced notice must be given of proposed installations in most cases, so architects, building developers and plumbers have to follow the regulations on behalf of future owners or occupiers.

Enforcement
The water supply companies are responsible to the government for the enforcement 9f the regulations. As with the previous supply byelaws, water companies will undertake inspections of new and existing installations to check that the regulations are being met. Bristol Water has set out its Code of Practice on Enforcement; copies are available free of charge on request.
Where breaches of the regulations are found, Bristol Water will require them to be remedied as soon as practicable, subject to the severity of risk. Where breaches pose a risk
to health, the supply to the premises may be disconnected immediately to protect the health of occupants or others fed from the same public supply. It is a criminal offence to breach the regulations and offenders may face prosecution.

How do the regulations affect you?
• Your plumbing system must be installed and maintained to comply with the regulations.
• You must prevent contamination of drinking water.
• You must give advanced notification of installation work.
• You may benefit from using an approved plumbing contractor.

1 Plumbing systems to comply
Plumbing systems must be designed, installed and maintained to meet the regulations' requirements. Plumbing materials and fittings must be of a suitable standard. It is not illegal to sell unsuitable fittings and appliances but to install one would be illegal, so check suitability before purchase. The regulations list the standards for suitability and the Water Fittings and Materials Directory, published by the Water Regulations Advisory Scheme (WRAS), gives up-to-date details of a wide range of items which have been tested and proved to comply.

Plumbing must be properly installed and maintained to protect water quality, to ensure safety, ease of access for maintenance, detection of leakage, protection against damage or freezing etc. If you are doing your own installation, ensure you know what requirements you must meet. If you are employing someone else, consider using an approved plumber who will guarantee compliance of the new installation.

Application of the regulations is not back-dated. Any plumbing system or water fitting which was installed lawfully under the Water Supply Byelaws before the regulations came into force on 1 July 1999 can still be used, even if its installation would not now be permitted by these regulations.

2 Prevention of backflow
Where water or water-using equipment is used with fluids or materials which could contaminate it, there must be adequate protection to stop backflow of potentially contaminated water into other parts of the system, especially drinking water. The regulations define Fluid Risk Categories according to the type of contaminants which are present and specify the appropriate type of prevention device which must be fitted to guard against backflow.

3 Advanced notification
In most cases, before work starts on any proposed installation, the installer, owner or occupier must obtain the water supplier's consent by prior notification. This applies to water system installations or alterations in connection with any of the following:
• the erection of any new building or structure
• the extension or alteration of the water system in any premises except a domestic dwelling#
• the material change in use of any premises
• the installation of:
- a bidet with an ascending spray or flexible hose#
- a bath larger than 230 litres (measured to the centre of the overflow)*
- a single shower unit with more than one outlet*
- a pump or booster drawing more than 12 litres per minute
- a reverse osmosis unit
- a water treatment unit producing a waste water discharge or requiring water for regeneration or cleaning
- a reduced pressure zone (RPZ) valve or other mechanical device for protection against backflow in fluid category 4 or 5#
- a garden watering system unless designed to be a hand-operated one*
- any water system laid outside a building and either less than 750 mm or more than 1350 mm below ground level.
• construction of a pond or swimming pool, capacity greater than 10,000 litres, designed to be replenished automatically with mains water.*
For installations connected to Bristol Water's supplies, the following information must be sent to Water Regulations Notifications at the address shown.
• The name and address of the person giving notice and, if different, of the person to whom the consent should be sent.
• A description of the proposed work and any related change of use of premises.
• The location of the premises and their use or intended use.
• Except for items marked * above, a plan of that part of the premises which relates to the proposed work and a diagram showing the pipework and fittings to be installed.
• The plumbing contractor's name and address, if an approved plumber is to do the work.

A notification form is available from Bristol Water.

Consent will not be withheld unreasonably, and may be granted subject to conditions, which must be followed. If consent is not given within ten working days, it is deemed to have been granted. This does not alter the obligation upon the installer and owner or occupier to see that the regulations are fully met.

4 Approved Plumbers
An approved plumber will certify that his or her installation or maintenance work satisfies the regulations. If breaches of regulations are found in the certified work, the legal responsibility falls upon the approved plumber and not on the owner or occupier. Installation by an approved plumber of items marked # in the list above does not have to receive prior consent but on completion, compliance certificate copies must be sent to Bristol Water and to the person who asked for the work to be done.
Bristol Water supports the national Water Industry Approved Plumbers Scheme (WIAPS), whose members have demonstrated their experience of plumbing work and knowledge of the regulations and have liability insurance cover. For a list of approved plumbers go to www.wras.co.uk