What the water fittings rules protect, who they bind, which jobs are notifiable, and the advance notice or approved-contractor route.
The Water Supply (Water Fittings) Regulations 1999 exist to prevent five things happening to water supplied by a water undertaker:
- Waste: leaks, overflowing cisterns, or avoidable running of taps.
- Misuse: using water for a purpose the supply was not provided for.
- Undue consumption: fittings that use more water than is reasonably necessary.
- Contamination: backflow, such as an unprotected irrigation system, and unsuitable materials.
- Erroneous measurement: anything that lets water bypass or upset the meter.
Before you start
- Check the Regulations apply. They cover the pipework and fittings on premises connected, directly or indirectly, to a water undertaker's supply, downstream of the public main. A wholly private supply is not governed in the same way.
- Know who is responsible. The owner or occupier and the person doing the work share the duty to comply. An owner doing their own work must still comply, including notification and consent where required.
- Check whether the job is notifiable. In England and Wales, the list covers a new building or structure; altering or extending a water system on premises other than a house; and a material change of use. Installation triggers include a bath exceeding 230 litres measured to the overflow centre line, a bidet with an ascending spray or flexible hose, specified shower types, a pump drawing more than 12 litres per minute directly or indirectly from a supply pipe, reverse osmosis, treatment that discharges waste water or uses water for cleaning/regeneration, an RPZ or other specified high-risk mechanical backflow device, and garden watering not designed for hand operation. Outside pipework less than 750 mm or more than 1350 mm deep is also listed. A separate trigger covers automatically replenished mains-fed ponds or pools exceeding 10,000 litres. Check the applicable rules and undertaker’s requirements; routine like-for-like repairs are generally outside this list.
- Check the approved-contractor route. Regulation 5 in England and Wales exempts qualifying approved-contractor installation under table items 2, 4(b) and 4(g): non-house system alterations/extensions, the specified bidets and high-risk mechanical backflow devices. Scheme membership, scope and conditions still matter. Confirm the route for the actual job, particularly an RPZ installation or a new high-risk system. Issue the completion certificate and send the undertaker a copy where required.
- Obtain consent before starting. For work needing notification, supply the required details and do not begin without consent. The undertaker can refuse or set conditions within ten working days of valid notice; if it gives no notice in that period, consent is deemed granted unconditionally. Observe any conditions and ensure the work itself complies.
- Use suitable fittings and good workmanship. A recognised approval, such as WRAS approval, or conformity to an appropriate standard is evidence that a product is suitable. A compliant fitting jointed or arranged badly can still waste or contaminate water.
Contravening the Regulations is an offence, and the water undertaker can require non-compliant fittings to be put right or removed. Notification is a legal step before work starts, not an emergency reporting channel.
What WRAS is
WRAS now stands for the Water Regulations Approval Scheme: since April 2021 it has been a certification body that approves plumbing products and materials. WRAS approval or conformity to an appropriate standard provides evidence of suitability; check its scope and conditions for the intended installation. The advice and guidance work WRAS used to do, for water suppliers, installers and the public, moved to Water Regs UK. You may still hear the old name, the Water Regulations Advisory Scheme.