WaterMark terms and conditions

These terms and conditions apply to members of the WaterMark scheme.

Background

The Water Supply (Water Fittings) Regulations 1999 (hereinafter referred to as the Regulations) set requirements for the design, installation and maintenance of water fittings and plumbing systems.

The Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) allows organisations such as Severn Trent to run an approval scheme that enables approved members to self-certificate their own work.  This removes the need for a separate inspection to be carried out by the water undertaker to ensure compliance of the Regulations is met.

All work(s) undertaken must comply fully with the requirements of the Water Supply (Water Fittings) Regulations 1999.  It is a criminal offence to be in breach of the Regulations.

The water undertaker has a legal duty to enforce the Regulations within its area of supply.

Members shall, at all times, comply fully with the requirements of the scheme for their duration of membership:

a) All members must comply with these Terms and Conditions, the Code of Conduct and any other rules of membership prescribed by the scheme.

b) All members must comply with the schemes branding guidelines.

c) All members must comply with any auditing procedures and any action required by the scheme following an audit.

d) All members are responsible for maintaining recognised qualification(s) which are required by the scheme and/or the Regulations.

e) All membership and application fees must be paid in full.

f) All members must use skill, care and attention in the provision of its services.

a) Members are automatically enrolled onto WaterSafe, the national approved plumber accreditation scheme.

b) Membership details will be shared and added to the WaterSafe directory of qualified plumbers maintained by WaterMark and WaterSafe.  Members have the option to opt out of WaterSafe at any time but must inform the scheme accordingly. 

c) Membership of the scheme will published on the WaterSafe website via the online ‘Find an approved contractor’ search facility (www.watersafe.org.uk).

d) Members are invited to use the WaterMark and WaterSafe logos on their vehicles and stationery only whilst their membership is valid. These logos must be current and members must only use branding supplied by the schemes.

In order for membership status to be granted the following conditions must be met in full;

a) Completion of an application form.

b) The applicant must hold a formal plumbing qualification which is recognised by the scheme. Please refer to the WaterSafe website for a full list of qualifications. This doesn’t apply to Underground, Sector and RPZ applicants.

c) The applicant must hold a recognised Water Fittings Regulations qualification demonstrating their knowledge of the Water Supply (Water Fittings) Regulations 1999. This doesn’t apply to RPZ applicants.

d) The applicant must successfully pass a site audit undertaken by a Severn Trent or Hafren Dyfrdwy Water Fittings Technician. This doesn’t apply to Sector and RPZ applicants.

e) The applicant must have £2 million of public liability insurance and, where appropriate, £5 million of employer’s liability cover. Copies of these polices must be provided. It is the members responsibility to ensure that this cover is maintained whilst participating in the scheme. 

f) The spirit of the scheme is to recognise and promote qualified and competent trades people working ‘on the tools’.  The scheme is not intended for members to act as ‘inspectors’ offering their services to self-certify installations they have not undertaken themselves, for example to speed up a new connection application.  Members in breach of this membership requirement will be investigated and immediately removed from the scheme.

Additional to the above a RPZ tester must also adhere to the following:

a) The applicant must hold a valid Water Industry recognised BA device/RPZ valve tester’s qualification.

b) The applicant must provide a copy of the current calibration certificate for their test equipment upon request. RPZ test equipment shall be calibrated by a pressure calibration service accredited by UKAS. Equipment should be calibrated at least annually or, where specified by the manufacturer more frequently. A copy of your public liability insurance and employer’s liability insurance certificates upon must be presented upon request.).

c) All work must fully comply with the current Approved Installation Method (AIM) and Water Supply (Water Fittings) Regulations 1999.

d) Following the testing or commissioning of an RPZ valve, a copy of the test certificate shall be submitted to the Water Fittings Department (RPZ@severntrent.co.uk) within 10 working days, certificates maybe rejected if received after this period.

e) The applicant must submit a minimum of 4 test certificates per year to ensure they remain competent.

f) The applicant must submit a minimum of 4 test certificates per year to ensure they remain competent.

a) There is an initial one-off non-refundable application fee of £100.00; 

b) In addition to this there is also an annual membership fee of £50.00 per company, both fees are inclusive of VAT.

a) Where a water fitting is installed, altered, connected or disconnected by an approved member, the member shall upon completion of the work furnish a certificate of compliance stating whether the water fitting complies with the requirements of these Regulations to the person who commissioned the work (Regulation 6).

b) In the case of a fitting for which notification is required under Regulation 5, the member shall notify the Water Fittings Regulations Department (water.regulations@severntrent.co.uk) prior to undertaking the work(s).

c) Only approved scheme members are permitted to self-certify their work(s).  Self-certification submitted by non-approved members will not be accepted and may result in termination from the scheme.

d) A member’s scope of work is limited to their membership status.

e) An approved member is responsible for the quality of work and compliance with the Regulations for all work completed by a sub-contractor employed by them.

a) Audits will only be undertaken within the Severn Trent and Hafren Dyfrdwy’s area of supply.

b) Severn Trent and Hafren Dyfrdwy may carry out audits on existing members to ensure that any work undertaken complies with the Regulations. 

c) For new applicants, membership will only be granted following a successful audit of completed work. This doesn’t apply to Sector and RPZ applicants

d) The subsequent steps will apply when arranging all audits:

- Severn Trent or Hafren Dyfrdwy will contact the member / applicant on three separate occasions in order to arrange an audit date.

- If an audit date cannot be arranged after the third attempt, their membership status will be changed to ‘lapsed’.

- During a ‘lapsed’ membership period, if the member contacts WaterMark and an audit date can be arranged (and successfully passed), their membership status will be reinstated.

- If there is no contact from the member they shall be removed from the scheme.

-  In the event a member is removed from the scheme, the member must then re-apply for membership via the new member application process.

e) Any contravention of the Regulation’s found as part of the audit will be discussed with the member / applicant.

f) Existing members who fail to rectify (at their own expense) any contravention(s) found during the audit, will be removed from the scheme and may be liable to legal action from the customer(s) and/or Severn Trent/Hafren Dyfrdwy.

g) New applicants who fail an audit and who fail to rectify (at their own expense) any contravention(s) found during the audit, will be refused membership of the scheme.  The new applicant may also be liable to legal action from the customer(s) and/ or Severn Trent/Hafren Dyfrdwy.

h) Members/applicants who fail an audit, may have their membership temporarily suspended whilst they attend further training. Upon completion of this training a further audit shall be required.

i) Details of audits may be shared with third parties such as other approved contractor schemes and WaterSafe.

j) The Scheme reserves the right to require that individual members undertake a regulations knowledge based assessment.

a) WaterMark will use all information in accordance with Severn Trent’s Privacy Policy.

b) Members acknowledge and accept that WaterMark and WaterSafe shall be entitled to use the relevant information to enable administration of the scheme(s) effectively and to monitor and enforce the scheme rules. 

c) Members acknowledge and accept that WaterMark may pass on personal information to other approved contractor schemes and third parties such as WaterRegsUK when deemed necessary, for example WaterSafe subscription.

a) The scheme has a Code of Conduct which sets out the standards of behaviour expected by members. Failure to comply with the Code of Conduct may result in termination of scheme membership. 

a) Any dispute outside of the remit of the Water Supply (Water Fittings) Regulations 1999 or the current RPZ AIM is a private matter between the member and the customer(s).

b) Any dispute between the approved plumber/contractor and Severn Trent/Hafren Dyfrdwy shall be referred to the Water Regulations Manager.  Any disputes or appeals shall be submitted in writing to the Scheme and will be assessed on a case by case basis.

c) If a member wishes to appeal the outcome of a dispute resulting in the termination of membership or Water Fittings Regulation infringements being upheld, they must submit it in writing to the Water Fittings Regulations Manager.  The Water Fittings Regulations Managers decision will be final and non-negotiable with all parties being bound by the decision(s) in all such disputes or appeals.

a) If a member is found to be carrying out work which is not in accordance with the Water Supply (Water Fittings) Regulations 1999 or AIM-08-01 Issue 2 2020, or fails to comply with any of the foregoing requirements, Severn Trent/Hafren Dyfrdwy reserve the right to terminate membership and remove the company from the approved list of plumbers.

b) Legal action may be taken by Severn Trent or Hafren Dyfrdwy if an offence has been committed under the Water Supply (Water Fittings) Regulations 1999 or the Water Industry Act 1991, and is deemed in the interest of the general public.

c) Upon termination of membership, members must remove and return all merchandise relating to the scheme with immediate effect.  This includes but not limited to all membership cards, membership certificates and any unused work completion certificates.

d) Upon termination of membership, members must immediately cease to use any scheme logos on advertising material, company vehicles, websites, social media and company stationary.

e) Termination of membership shall result in the removal of a member’s details from the WaterSafe ‘Find an approved contractor’ website.

f) The scheme shall notify the member in writing relating to the reasons for termination of membership.

g) The scheme shall notify the member in writing relating to the reasons for termination of membership.

a) Severn Trent and Hafren Dyfrdwy cannot guarantee the quality of workmanship undertaken by a member.

b) Severn Trent and Hafren Dyfrdwy reserves the right to alter and/or amend the Terms and Conditions and the Code of Conduct without prior notice.

c) Membership renewal is on an annual basis, currently 1st April – 31st March.  Renewals will not be granted without receipt of a completed renewal form and annual membership fee.

d) Approved Members of the RPZ Valve Tester sector are only approved for operations and tasks associated with the commissioning and compliance testing of RPZ valves. The purpose is to verify conformity with the AIM and the Regulations through reporting observations, test results and failures when they occur. Individual approved RPZ Valve Testers are not Approved Contractors as defined in the Regulations. In regards to notification or other work associated with installing or replacing RPZ valves, these activities are outside the scope of the RPZ Valve Tester sector. When installing or replacing RPZ valves every installer must meet the requirements as set out in the AIM and the Regulations. Where installers are separately approved as an Approved Contractor, they must meet their scheme’s requirements .

e) The scheme reserves the right to terminate membership for breach of these Terms and Conditions or Code of Conduct.

f) Severn Trent reserve the right to terminate the scheme at any time for whatever reason without prior notification.

g) Severn Trent and Hafren Dyfrdwy cannot guarantee that membership of the scheme will generate any additional work.  The nature of scheme is to recognise your qualifications as competent plumber within the water industry.

h) From time to time Severn Trent / WaterMark may announce promotional offers available to members as offered by third parties, subject to any third-party terms and conditions applying to such offer. Severn Trent / WaterMark will not be acting as agent or responsible for any product or service acquired through such offers.

i) The scheme is administered by the Water Fittings Regulations department.