The Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI), Water UK and British Water are encouraging all manufacturers of products on the DWI’s list of products approved for use in drinking water to ensure you submit all application material in good time and to a high degree of accuracy following notification from DWI of approval expiry.
Any change to a product should be notified in advance and not where a change has taken place and not notified until reapproval as laboratory testing may be necessary.
All
products
used
in
contact
with
drinking
water
in
England
and
Wales
must
be
compliant
with
Regulation
31
of
the
Water
Supply
(Water
Quality)
Regulations
2016
(there
are
equivalent
requirements
in
Scotland
and
NI).
This
is
a
legal
requirement
on
water
companies
who
can
only
install
and
commission
products
that
are
registered
and
approved
at
the
point
they
are
first
brought
into
service.
DWI
operate
an
approval
scheme
on
behalf
of
English
and
Welsh
Government
to
ensure
that
products
used
in
the
supply
of
drinking
water
meet
the
required
standards.
The
Drinking
Water
Quality
Regulator
for
Scotland
and
DWI-Northern
Ireland
manage
similar
approaches
in
their
administrations
-
DWI
carry
out
this
process
on
behalf
of
the
devolved
nations
who
then
issue
their
approval
letters
upon
completion
of
the
approval
and
receipt
of
signed
acknowledgements
confirming
approval
holders'
acceptance
of
the
terms/conditions
of
approval.
To
gain
approval
manufacturers
need
to
present
a
dossier
of
evidence
as
set
out
in
DWI
Advice
Sheet
1
and
12.
This
will
include
full
instructions
for
use
and
evidence
of
product
and/or
all
of
its
non-metallic
components’
suitability
for
use
in
contact
with
drinking
water
(e.g.
BS6290
test
report
or
confirmation
that
components
of
the
product
are
already
approved),
any
metallic
components
shall
comply
with
the
requirements
of
the
4MSI
metals
composition
list.
Approvals
are
usually
granted
for
a
period
of
five
years.
Once
a
product
has
been
approved,
manufacturers
are
required
to
notify
the
DWI
in
advance
of
any
changes
to
the
product
including
administrative,
manufacture,
formulation
or
supplier,
and
put
in
a
change
application.
It
is
then
up
to
DWI
to
assess
and
approve,
including
any
testing
which
may
be
required
if
changes
have
been
made
to
the
product
formulation.
Six
months
before
the
approval
lapses
the
approval
holder
can
make
an
application
to
have
the
product’s
approval
renewed.
Renewal
is
normally
given
without
additional
testing
if
no
changes
have
been
made
to
the
product
formulation,
supplier
or
place
of
manufacture.
Manufacturers
need
to
commence
their
re-approval
process
immediately
after
this
notification
to
avoid
the
risk
of
re-approvals
not
being
processed
prior
to
expiry.
DWI
provide
a
library
of
advice
and
supporting
material
to
help
guide
manufacturers
through
the
Regulation
31
approval
process.
Products
approved
for
use
in
drinking
water
in
accordance
with
Regulation
31(4)(a)
are
listed
publicly
by
DWI
on
their
website
in
the
List
of
Approved
Products.
Analysis
of
the
latest
data
indicates
that
there
are
eight
manufacturers
with
three
or
more
products
that
are
due
to
see
their
approval
lapse
during
2025.
Delays
to
Regulation
31
approvals
and
reapprovals
can
impact
both
planned
and
reactive
maintenance
work
due
to
be
carried
out
by
water
companies.
The
sector
is
working
closely
on
ways
to
support
Regulation
31
approvals
to
ensure
that
products
remain
available
for
use
and
that
new
products
can
be
made
available
on
the
market.
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