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Enhancement of Control of Inside Services’ Construction and Installation

In order to enhance the control of the installation and construction, etc. of inside services, the Water Supplies Department (WSD) has taken forward the following measures with a view to safeguarding the safety and quality of drinking water in inside services.

Material Control

• Enhancement of General Acceptance (GA) System
  To enhance control of pipes and fittings installed in inside services, the WSD has imposed a five-year validity period of GA for water supply pipes and fittings since August 2015. The WSD also stipulated the requirements for submission of supporting document of the lead free soldering materials.
  
  To enhance the GA system, the WSD:
  • launched in April 2017 the voluntary labelling scheme for GA products for consumers’ easier identification of GA products;
  • launched in October 2017 a surveillance programme which involves carrying out verification test on plumbing products with valid GA;
  • introduced the voluntary GA* scheme in November 2017 to promote the adoption of low metal leaching metallic plumbing products in fresh water inside service; and
  • set up a Material Testing Laboratory in April 2018 for testing the plumbing products (the Laboratory was accredited by Hong Kong Accreditation Service (HKAS) under Hong Kong Laboratory Accreditation Scheme (HOKLAS) on 11 August 2021 (the registration number assigned to the Laboratory is HOKLAS 301)).
• Formation of Committee
  To further strengthen plumbing material control, in December 2016, an Expert Committee on Plumbing Materials was set up with five local experts on materials to provide advices on plumbing materials.

Inspection and Approval

• Non-destructive and Water Sampling Tests
  To enhance the inspection and approval of inside services, the WSD has stipulated the requirements for carrying out non-destructive tests on solder pipe joints and water sampling test for testing of heavy metals including lead since August 2015.
• Random Inspection of New Plumbing Works during Construction Stage
  The WSD has stepped up the regulatory control of the pipe materials and fittings of the plumbing system by carrying out risk-based random inspection of plumbing works during construction stage of new plumbing installations with effect from 1 April 2017.
• Enhanced Workflow for Online Re-plumbing Works
  In regard to the workflow of the online re-plumbing works, the WSD has introduced enhanced measures to step up the material control and supervision of works. These measures apply to online re-plumbing works with tenders invited or with application for water supply submitted on or after 30 June 2017.
• Systematic Flushing for New Plumbing Works
  For commissioning of new plumbing system, the WSD has introduced a systematic flushing protocol for newly installed inside services to further reduce the leaching of heavy metal from the new plumbing system. This will be applicable to the new plumbing works applying for approval of completion on or after 31 July 2017.
• New Commissioning Requirements for New Plumbing Works
  WSD has introduced new commissioning requirements for adoption in newly installed insider services for potable water purposes in unoccupied buildings and village houses to strengthen the water safety in inside services. The new requirements are implemented in two stages and are applicable to Form WWO 46 Part IV submitted for newly installed plumbing works in unoccupied buildings/village houses on or after 15 October 2017.
• New Commissioning Requirements for Plumbing Works in Occupied Buildings/Village Houses
  WSD has introduced new commissioning requirements for new/replaced plumbing works for potable water purposes in occupied buildings and village houses to strengthen the water safety in inside services. The new requirements are applicable to Form WWO 46 Part IV submitted for plumbing works in occupied buildings/village houses on or after 15 November 2017.

Sampling Protocol for Commissioning Test of Fresh Water Plumbing System

WSD promulgated the sampling protocol for commissioning of newly constructed fresh water plumbing system to provide guideline to ensure that representable water samples fulfilling the commissioning standard can be collected by the staff of testing laboratories.

• Sampling Protocol for Commissioning Test of Fresh Water Plumbing System

Management and Training of Licensed Plumbers (LPs)

• Enhancement of Point Penalty System
  To strengthen the management of LPs, the WSD has developed a detailed checklist for inspection and approval of completed plumbing works and enhanced the Point Penalty System (PPS) for LPs stressing the importance of using compliant plumbing materials and proper discharging of the duties of LPs since October 2015. Upon further review, a new Penalty and Demerit Point System (PDPS) was promulgated to replace the PPS to step up the performance management of licensed plumbers since October 2019 by delineating (a) contravention of Waterworks Ordinance (WWO) / Waterworks Regulations (WWR) and (b) non-compliance with WA’s requirements.
• Strengthening Syllabi of LP Training Courses
  To increase the awareness of LPs and plumbing workers on water safety, the training courses provided by the Vocational Training Council and the Construction Industry Council for licensed plumbers and plumbing workers have covered the potential causes and hazards of drinking water contaminations and the associated precautionary measures since September 2016.
• Voluntary Continuing Professional Development Scheme for Licensed Plumbers
  To update LPs on the advancement in technology and of plumbing industry and to meet the expectation of the public, the WSD in collaboration with the plumbing industry stakeholders launched the Voluntary Continuing Professional Development Scheme for Licensed Plumbers in October 2016.

Collaborations with the Trade and Experts

• Technical Committee on Plumbing
  To collect and consider views from the industry stakeholders, the Technical Committee on Plumbing was established in March 2016 to advise on plumbing matters relating to materials and standards, waterworks requirements and application and approval of plumbing works.
• Good Practice Guide on Plumbing Works
  The WSD worked with the CIC in March 2017 to publish a practice guide namely Good Practice Guide on Plumbing Works, which recommends good practice to relevant stakeholders for carrying out design and construction of different types of plumbing works, and places emphasis on the importance of plumbing material control during procurement, supervision and on-site material checking and testing.

Legislation

• Legislative Review
  The WSD is conducting a holistic review of the Waterworks Ordinance and Waterworks Regulations. Under the first stage of the legislative review, the WSD has identified the following priority amendments, which were submitted to the Legislative Council for deliberation in the Q2 of 2017:
  • For Material Control - WSD has updated the standards of the plumbing materials in the Waterworks Regulations (Cap. 102A) . The legislative process has been completed and the relevant amendments through Waterworks (Amendment) Regulation 2017 and Waterworks (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulation 2017 have become effective on 14 July 2017 and 8 December 2017 respectively.
  • For Enhancing the Management of LPs - The WSD has designated suitably qualified persons for carrying out plumbing works and stipulated clearly the roles and responsibilities of LPs in the design and construction of plumbing systems. The legislative process has also been completed and the relevant amendments through Waterworks (Amendment) Ordinance 2018 have come into force on 15 February 2018.
  For the full version of the amended Waterworks Ordinance and Waterworks Regulations, please visit the Legal Enforcement web page.
  
  WSD has also published a leaflet regarding the amendment for the reference of the public.