TECHNICAL
31
Supporting GAPS in the standards
By
Rory Macnamara
The Water Research Commission ( WRC ) is in the process of a * project , entitled “ Supporting the development of standards for water use efficiency and water safety in buildings .”
An admirable initiative especially in light of our water quality and water infrastructure declining worryingly fast due to dysfunctional municipalities , corruption , greed , and general indifference to the state of our government and , may I say , SALGA itself .
The plumbing industry has taken great strides forward in uplifting the industry and much work has been done in recognising the qualified plumber . During the session there was reference to the registered plumber and indeed there is opportunity to become registered through the voluntary SAQA Professional Body for Plumbing but to register one must be qualified and show proof of such qualification .
We still have this silly situation where SANS 10252 which is a compulsory standard by virtue of the Water Services Act but cannot be enforced by the NRCS because it does not fall within the National Building Regulations ( NBR ). Part P of the NBR relates to Drainage which is a part of plumbing and within this Part P the Inspector can and subsequently passes the sanitaryware , taps , mixers , fixtures , and such which are part of drainage i . e ., waste . Our efforts to get action from NRCS regarding taps and mixers , most of which are illegal in terms of compulsory standards , continues to fall on deaf ears . For this project SANS 10252 is compulsory irrespective of who is responsible for enforcement .
The Aims and Outcomes of the project are outlined below :
One must accept that the report covers the whole spectrum of water supply and quality , and its intention is to close the gaps . To do this requires ALL ROLEPLAYERS to participate . Now there is activity in the labelling system arena which in 2019 identified gaps like ones identified in this report . It was noted in the report that a WATER part is being discussed to be included in the National Building Regulations – which has also been spoken about for years now .
The report noted that the Building Inspector only inspects the installation ( assuming we do get a water part into the NBR ) From then the person responsible for the building be it residential , commercial , or industrial , is responsible for ensuring water quality and maintenance .
The report found that many of those who responded did not have maintenance teams and
WRC
September 2022 Volume 28 I Number 7 www . plumbingafrica . co . za