Frequently asked questions
Can I get a copy of the Water Supply (Water Fittings) Regulations 1999?
You can purchase a copy of the regulations by contacting www.waterregsuk.co.uk.
I am installing a new water service pipe, how deep should the trench be?
There are minimum and maximum depths at which service pipes should be laid:
- Minimum depth is 750 mm
- Maximum depth is 1350 mm
If you wish to install the service pipe either deeper or shallower than these depths you must notify the local water supplier for permission.
Do I need to know anything when buying water fittings or appliances?
The regulations impose a legal duty on people to only use suitable fittings, which are designed or the job they are being installed to do.
Products are considered safe, if they pass tests against regulatory standards for mechanical performance and where appropriate non-metallic materials. For example, these tests check that products won’t affect the taste and smell of drinking water and that they are able to inhibit the growth of bacteria.
The Water Supply (Water Fittings) Regulations and Scottish Water Byelaws give three routes in demonstrating that it is of an appropriate quality or standard.
- It bears an appropriate CE marking in accordance with the Directive Regulation (EU) No 305/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down harmonised conditions for the marketing of construction products
- It conforms to an appropriate British Standard or some other national specification of an EEA State which provides an equivalent level of protection and performance; or
- It conforms to a specification approved by the regulator