(FAQ5) How can I check whether a product is approved for use with drinking water supplies?

Introduction

Under normal circumstances ALL products approved under Regulation 31(4)(a) are listed in the “List of Approved Products for use in Public Water Supply in the United Kingdom” (the “List”) – Approved & Considered Products – Drinking Water Inspectorate (dwi.gov.uk). Although this list is updated on a regular “need” basis throughout the year, it may take several weeks before an approved product is added to the list on the website; final approval is not confirmed until the applicant has formally accepted the conditions of approval.

You should normally assume that if there is no mention of the product in the “List”, then this product is not currently approved under Regulation 31(4)(a).

How can the Drinking Water Inspectorate help?

If you are unable to trace any reference to the product in the “List”, in the first instance you should ask the supplier of the product for a copy of the approval letter issued by ourselves. You should note, however, that this alone does not confirm final approval; this is withheld until the applicant formally accepts the full approval conditions. The date of this letter will determine the next step that you should take:

a) If this letter is dated up to 6 months before the date of the current “List” on our website, you should check with us as to when the final approval is likely to be confirmed on our website. To enable us to help you with this it is vital that you provide the name of the product, together with that of its supplier, and the DWI reference number for the product (this will be in the format DWI 56.4.XXX) – this information is included in the approval letter.

b) If this letter is dated more than 6 months before the date of the current “List” on our website, but the product is not in the current list it is likely that the approval has been withdrawn for a variety of possible reasons; please contact us with the information set out in “a” above.

c) If the supplier of the product is unable to provide you with an approval letter and/or DWI 56.4.XXX reference number, it is possible that the product has –

• never been approved or
• former approval has been withdrawn/revoked or
• it has been submitted for approval , but this has been subsequently withheld or refused. In this case contact us providing us with the name of the product, together with that of its supplier, and the DWI reference number for the product (see “a” above).