The Water Supplies Department (WSD) announced today (March 31) that the stage one voluntary labelling scheme for approved plumbing products will be launched tomorrow (April 1) to help the public identify plumbing products with a General Acceptance (GA) status.

     At present, the WSD has a GA system in place to pre-approve plumbing products used in plumbing projects. For a plumbing product to obtain a GA status, the supplier should submit either test results of a sample of the product or a certificate issued by an authoritative certification body to prove conformity of the product to the statutory standards. If the submission is accepted, the WSD will include the product in its pre-approved list. Builders can use the product in plumbing projects before the GA expiry date of that product (the duration of validity is normally five years).

     To help the public identify GA plumbing products, the WSD is launching the voluntary labelling scheme for GA products in collaboration with plumbing suppliers. Under the scheme, suppliers are required to affix a label (see attachment) designed by the WSD on the product package or the counter of the shops that sell the GA product for identification by the public. In addition, each label is printed with a QR code for retrieval of useful information about the product such as its country of origin, GA expiry date and quality assurance details via smartphones.

     The scheme will be implemented in stages with water taps and mixers to be introduced at the first stage. The WSD will invite tapware suppliers to participate in the scheme. The application form and details of the scheme are available on the WSD's website (www.wsd.gov.hk/en/plumbing_and_engineering/fittings_to_be_installed_or_use/guideline/index.html). For enquiries, please call the department's 24-hour hotline at 2824 5000 or email to wsdinfo@wsd.gov.hk.

Ends/Friday, March 31, 2017
Issued at HKT 14:30

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