The risks of poor plumbing to drinking water

Drinking water in England continues to be among the best in the world, however on the rare occasions problems do occur, this is often due to poor plumbing inside homes and buildings.

The annual drinking water quality report, published by the Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI), shows the drinking water supplied by water companies to nearly 59 million people in England is safe, reliable and meets stringent high standards.

However, it also shows that on the few occasions the test standards were not met, nearly half of these were due to issues with plumbing inside homes and buildings.

So, WaterSafe, the national register for approved plumbers, and the DWI are raising awareness of the risks of using inadequately trained plumbers and non-compliant products.

Nearly a third of the reported water quality events listed in the report were in homes, businesses or public buildings, which the property owners are responsible for. These were attributed to:

·        pipework fittings

·        cross-connections (e.g. drinking water pipes connected to other non-drinking water pipes)

·        pipe and plumbing materials causing a bad taste or smell

·        lead pipes

·        nickel leaching from taps into water

·        lack of protection from dirty water flowing back into drinking water (from outside taps etc)

·        poor plumbing.

Marcus Rink, chief inspector of the DWI, said: “We recommend employing a qualified plumber accredited with the national register WaterSafe to carry out any plumbing work and only using compliant products.  This will help protect the quality of drinking water after it reaches homes and buildings right up to the tap.”

Plumbers approved by WaterSafe are fully qualified in the water fittings regulations, have insurance and are promoted by water companies to keep drinking water safe in homes. Compliant products include those approved by WRAS Approvals, NSF or KIWA.

Julie Spinks, managing director of WaterSafe, said: “It’s reassuring that drinking water quality remains exceptionally high in England but it’s important we take responsible steps to keep it that way for everyone inside our homes, public buildings and businesses by only trusting our plumbing and choice of products to qualified, approved professionals.”