Drinking water product manufacturers urged to seek timely Reg 31 re-approval

The Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI) , Water UK and British Water have issued a joint call to manufacturers of products approved for use in drinking water to submit Regulation 31 renewal applications in good time.

There are eight manufacturers with three or more products that are due to see their approval lapse during 2025. Approvals are usually granted for five years, and the DWI issues notifications that approval will expire six months ahead of time.

While renewal is normally given without additional testing if no changes have been made to the product formulation, supplier or place of manufacture, the call reminded manufacturers to commence their re-approval process immediately after this notification is received, to avoid the risk of re-approvals not being processed prior to expiry. Clearly this would impact water company work schedules.

Where a product is subject to any change, manufacturers are urged to notify the DWI early, as laboratory testing may be necessary for re-approval.