Closed consultation

Water fittings: preventing backflow of water from toilet cisterns

From:
Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs and Welsh Government
Published
8 August 2022
Last updated
1924 DecemberJanuary 20222024 — See all updates

Applies to England and Wales

We are analysing your feedback

Visit this page again soon to download the outcome to this public feedback.public feedback.

Detail of feedback received

This consultation closed on 3 October.October 2022. We received 42 responses to the consultation,consultation. whichNot haveall beenrespondents answered all questions.

We analysed andresponses carefullyon considered.proposed changes to 11 specifications to:

  • protect human health from contaminated drinking water
  • reflect modern toilet designs

TheWe governmentmade needmore amendments to notifyour proposed specifications.

We notified the World Trade Organisation (WTO) asand the European Union of a potential technical barrier to tradetrade. andThis theis European Union, as required under the Northern Ireland Protocol because these changes are relevant to compliance in Northern Ireland.

OnceWe thisreceived isno complete,comments from these notifications.

Responses to the call for evidence on faulty toilet valves covered a variety of areas reflecting the range of respondents’ experiences.

Most agreed that government should take action to reduce the impact of leaking toilets. Preferences on the approach were tightly clustered with no clear favoured option.

Evidence and comments provided will publishallow Defra to have follow up conversations on the content of any proposed changes. Preliminary discussions with core stakeholders are already taking place.

The summary of responses,responses and the government response to them, along with the final Regulatorregulator Specificationsspecifications and test code sheets.sheets, Weare expectexpected to publishbe thempublished in summer 2023.2024.

Summary

Seeking views on updating toilet specifications to stop cistern water from re-entering drinking water in properties and to understand the causes of leaking toilet valves.

This consultation was held on another website.

This consultation ran from
to

Consultation description

We want to know what you think about Defra’s proposed changes to 11 specifications made under the Water Supply (Water Fittings) Regulations 1999.

These regulations are needed to protect human health from contaminated drinking water. We need to update the specifications to reflect modern toilet designs.

One change will introduce a new backflow prevention arrangement in the toilet cistern. Another will introduce a new test to ensure that water from the toilet pan cannot contaminate the water in the cistern.

The other changes will make the rules consistent and clearer and focus on how a product must perform.

We also want to gather evidence on faulty toilet valves that cause a loss of water and look at what could be done to improve these products.

Published 8 August 2022
Last updated 1924 DecemberJanuary 20222024 + show all updates

  1. Feedback details have been updated to include a brief summary of responses to the ‘call for evidence’ on leaking toilets, and to amend the expected timeframe for the government response to summer 2024.

  2. The response to this consultation has been delayed.

  3. The response to this consultation has been delayed.

  4. First published.