Unit 315 Session 1 Complex cold water systems Unit introduction

​Unit 315 Complex cold water systems

Unit introduction

​Unit 315 Complex cold water systems

Unit introduction

​This unit provides learning in the application of design techniques, installation, maintenance, diagnostics

and rectification of faults and commissioning procedures, along with the backflow protection in plumbing

systems to comply with current legislation and regulations.



The unit also covers systems in multi-storey dwellings with water supplied from both:
a) water undertakers
and b) private water supplies.

​Unit 315 Complex cold water systems

Unit introduction

​

By the end of this unit, you will have knowledge and understanding of the following:

● the legislation relating to the installation and maintenance of cold water systems

● cold water system layouts.

● backflow protection in plumbing systems.

● design techniques for cold water systems.

● diagnosing and rectifying faults in cold water systems and components.

● commissioning cold water systems and components.
● servicing and maintenance of cold water systems.

Poll

Have you or you with your company ever installed a pump on a cold water system?

• Yes

• No

Poll

Which of these do you think are regulations relating to cold water systems in the UK?

• The water supply, fittings regulations

• British standards

  BS806

• Building regulations

• The drinking water inspectorate

• Ofwat

Drag and Drop

​ ​ Follow this link: Drinking Water Standards and Regulations - Drinking Water Inspectorate: and fill in the blanks from the statement below,

Drinking water must be ​

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and this is defined in law mainly by setting ​

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for a wide range of substances, ​

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and properties of water in ​

Placeholder

. There is an additional requirement to make sure that it does ​ anything else that might be a ​

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to human health, as identified by risk assessment. The standards are set to be protective of public health and the definition of wholesome includes factors that might affect the look, smell or taste of the water which needs to be acceptable to consumers.

Drag these tiles and drop them in the correct blank above

‘wholesome’

standards

organisms

regulations

toxic

guidelines

impurities

potential danger

​Unit 315

​Understand the appropriate industry standards and regulations when installing cold water systems.

Poll

Research how many water companies there are in the UK

• Between 1 & 5

• Between 5 & 10

• Between 10 & 15

• Over 15

​Water companies in England and Wales are regulated by four independent bodies across three areas:

• Ofwat– The economic regulator for the water sector in England and Wales

• Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI) – The drinking water quality regulator for England and Wales

• Environment Agency and Natural Resources Wales – Environmental regulators

​Your water should be safe to drink, and the quality is regulated by the Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI) for England and Wales. 



Each water supplier is tested regularly by inspectors to ensure the water is safe to drink. 

Tests will cover bacteria, chemicals such as nitrate and pesticides, metals such as lead and the way the water looks and how it tastes.

Your water pressure should be sufficient to fill a one gallon (4.5 litre) container in 30 seconds. 

Open Ended

Follow the link below and list 3 areas the drinking water inspectorate cover:

What we do - Drinking Water Inspectorate

Word Cloud

Who is our water provider in Wales?

​The majority of water supplied in the UK comes from local water suppliers such as Welsh water (Dwr Cymru) however there are around 24 water suppliers in Wales and England. 

Your water supplier has a duty to supply you with a continuous supply of water at an adequate pressure for your daily use. 

Welsh Water (Dwr Cymru) alone are responsible for 26,500km of water mains and have a responsibility to provide a safe and reliable drinking water supply to 1.4 million household and business customers .

​So how do we keep our drinking water clean and safe.

​The Water Regulations 

Since 1999, the water regulations have been in place. 

 Before that, there were the water regulation byelaws (or ‘the byelaws’). 

 Any plumbing systems or fittings installed after 1999 must follow the regulations, anything installed before date falls under the byelaws that were in place at that time. 

​Who is included in the regulations? 

All customers who have drinking water from a water supplier, or need a drinking water supply, as well as any plumbers and installers involved, may need to know about the regulations. 

Building owners and occupiers, developers, designers and architects, may also need to know about the regulations.


Even customers who have their own private water supply (e.g. they get drinking water from their own well / borehole) may need to know, if they are also connected to, or are planning to become connected to, the drinking water we supply. 

​What is included in the regulations? 

The regulations explain how to design, fit and look after plumbing systems and fittings.

They have our safety in mind, and want to protect us against problems such as: 

 

• Contamination (e.g. chemicals in drinking water)

• Waste (e.g. plumbing systems that leak) 

• Misuse; undue consumption; and, erroneous measurements (e.g. water meters installed in the wrong places, or people illegally using the drinking water supply). 

​We must note, that there are many properties in the UK that are not connected to the mains water network therefore acquire their water from a Private supply. 

A private water supply could be a spring or borehole, often in remote areas or in the countryside.

However, if the private water supply is connected to the mains water supply in some way, we still need to ensure that the system complies with the regulations above. 

We will talk about private water supplies in a future session.