In response to media enquiries on whether the British Standard (BS 5154) adopted by the Water Supplies Department (WSD) in the approval of valves is outdated, a spokesman for the WSD gave the following reply today (August 5):
As stipulated in Section 20 of the Waterworks Regulations, pipes and fittings shall meet the British Standard (BS). The Interpretation in Section 2 also states that the BS as quoted in the Waterworks Regulations means the latest revised edition of a specification issued by the British Standards Institution. At present, the WSD follows the latest revised editions of the relevant standards set out in the Regulations in the approval of applications for pipes and fittings.
The WSD noted that BS 5154:1991 is still applicable to certain copper alloy valves while BS EN12288:2010 has replaced only the part in BS 5154:1991 that is concerned with gate valves. The WSD has adopted BS EN12288:2010 in the approval of gate-valve applications.
The WSD will keep abreast of the latest developments and revisions of international standards to ensure that the latest revised editions of standards are adopted in the approval of relevant applications for the safety of drinking water.
Ends/Wednesday, August 5, 2015
Issued at HKT 19:50
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