Instructions to E-ApplicationA pipe or fitting shall comply with a prescribed specification in accordance with the Waterworks Regulations.
Water supply pipes and fittings accepted by this Authority for installation and use in inside services or fire services should be under one of the following categories:
To obtain approval for the installation and use of pipes or fittings in inside service or fire service covered by the Waterworks Ordinance/Waterworks Regulations from this Authority, you are required to produce one set of certification or test reports confirming their compliance with the relevant prescribed specification as listed on WSD webpage from either (a) the British Standards Institution, (b) the U.K. Water Regulations Advisory Scheme or (c) accredited laboratories acceptable to this Authority.
For (a) and (b), please ensure that the pipes and fittings are tested against the relevant British Standard as listed on WSD webpage.
For (c), please note that this Authority will accept laboratories accredited by the Hong Kong Laboratory Accreditation Scheme (HOKLAS) under the following sub-categories:-
| Category | Sub-category |
|---|---|
| Construction Materials |
|
Please visit the website of HOKLAS for more information on the accredited laboratories under the aforementioned sub-categories at:
https://www.itc.gov.hk/en/quality/hkas/conformity_assessment_bodies/hoklas.html
The accredited laboratories can give you advice on the testing requirements as soon as they have details of your pipes and fittings.
WSD issues General Acceptance (GA) Letter to the pipes and fittings required to be reported in Form WWO1149. For the items to be reported in WWO1149, please visit:
Form WWO1149
Please note that WSD will NOT issue general acceptance to the fitting not required to be reported in Form WWO1149.
When you submit your GA application, you are required to send us:-
No application fee is required.
Submit the Application
E-Application System
E-Application Instructions to E-Application
In person or by post
Please send the application submission in person or by post to "Material Control Unit, Water Supplies Department" at the following address: Room 4705, 47/F, Immigration Tower, 7 Gloucester Road, Wan Chai, Hong Kong. Please also mark "Application for General Acceptance of Pipes and Fittings for Plumbing Systems" on the envelope.
or
By E-mail
Applicants can also submit the application by E-mail to e_apply_ga@wsd.gov.hk. Applicant’s attention is drawn that the original/certified true copy of Hong Kong laboratory test report(s) shall also be submitted for verification. Within one month upon receiving a confirmation email with reference number from the Water Supplies Department, please submit those document, together with a duly signed covering/company letter (quoting WSD reference number), by post/in person to “Material Control Unit of Water Supplies Department at Room 4705, 47/F, Immigration Tower, 7 Gloucester Road, Wan Chai, Hong Kong”.
The "General Acceptance Plus"("GA+") Scheme is a voluntary scheme built on the existing General Acceptance ("GA") System. The scheme encourages quality assurance in the manufacturing stage of plumbing products. All pipes and fittings under the current GA System and new application are also eligible to apply for the "GA+"Scheme. In addition to the supporting documents for the GA application, GA applicants who wish to join the voluntary "GA+"Scheme are required to submit quality assurance information of their plumbing products in the manufacturing stage. After acceptance by the WSD, the quality assurance information of the GA product will be posted on the Directory Search of the WSD website for Water Supply Pipes and Fittings with Valid General Acceptance.
Please note that our Department will consider the quality assurance information under the following categories:-
The scheme is applicable to both new and existing GA products. Interested applicants for "GA+" Scheme shall complete and submit the application form above together with relevant documents to WSD.
The Technical Committee on Plumbing has endorsed in Jan 2017 to strengthen the material testing requirements in the application for General Acceptance (GA). For plumbing products with metallic material in direct contact with water intended for potable use, a test report issued by an accredited laboratory on metal chemical composition test shall be submitted to show compliance to the Waterworks Ordinance and Regulations.
In this connection, with effective on 1 Sept 2017, a top up test requirement will be applied to new or re-new GA application via the following certificates:
The supporting test report for metal chemical composition shall be submitted in the GA application. GA applicants can contact the accredited laboratories for the required chemical composition tests. Relevant test reports issued by 1) and 2) above showing compliance would also be accepted.
At present, the WSD has a General Acceptance (GA) system in place to pre-approve plumbing products used in new plumbing projects. To obtain a GA status, a supplier should submit either test results of a sample of its product or certificate issued by authoritative certification bodies to prove conformity of the product to the statutory standards. If the submission is acceptable, the WSD will include that product into its pre-approved list. Builders can use it in new plumbing projects before the GA expiry date of that project (max. 5 years).
The WSD has worked in collaboration with the plumbing suppliers to launch a voluntary labeling scheme for GA products in the retail market. Under the scheme, a supplier is required to affix a label onto the product packaging or display panel of the GA product which has joined the scheme. With the label, the public can readily distinguish GA products from other products. Besides, each label contains a QR code for retrieval of useful information about the product such as its country of origin, GA expiry date, quality assurance details etc.
The scheme is applicable to both new and existing GA products. Interested applicants for Voluntary Labelling Scheme shall complete and submit the application form above together with relevant documents to WSD.
The GA* Scheme is a voluntary scheme built on the existing GA System. The scheme promotes adoption of low metal leaching rate metallic plumbing products in fresh water inside service. Suppliers, manufacturers and importers of GA plumbing products are encouraged to join the Scheme to introduce low metal leaching rate metallic plumbing products to the local market. GA* for in-line plumbing products (pipe and pipe fitting, valve, strainer, expansion/settlement/flexible joint) and end-of-line plumbing products (tap, mixer) are now open for application.
Please download GA* Scheme Document for more details.
The scheme is applicable to both new and existing GA products. Interested applicants for GA* Scheme shall complete and submit the application form above together with relevant documents to WSD.
GA* plumbing products can be found here for easy reference.
At present, the WSD has a General Acceptance (GA) system in place to pre-approve plumbing products used in new plumbing projects. BS EN ISO/IEC 17067 sets out the key elements of a product certification scheme, which are good pointers for enhancement of the material approval system. Amongst others, surveillance is an element to maintain the validity of the statement of conformity.
To further enhance the conformity of plumbing products with the GA requirements, the WSD implements a surveillance programme for GA products. For details, please refer to WSD Circular Letter No. 8/2017 in the link below:-
A Material Testing Laboratory was set up 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).