Water Regulations Advisory Scheme (UK) · United Kingdom, former Commonwealth markets
WRAS
Water Regulations Approval Scheme
UK certification confirming pipe materials are safe for potable water contact. Required for plumbing in the UK and widely recognised across the Commonwealth.
What is WRAS?
WRAS — the Water Regulations Approval Scheme — is the UK's primary mechanism for demonstrating compliance with the Water Supply (Water Fittings) Regulations 1999 and the Scottish Water Byelaws 2014. WRAS Approval is granted only after a product passes BS 6920 testing, which evaluates odour and flavour transfer to water, appearance changes, growth of aquatic micro-organisms and extraction of substances regulated under WHO/EU drinking water directives.
Why it matters to buyers
Water utilities, plumbing inspectors and main building contractors in the UK insist on WRAS Approval. Without it a product cannot legally be installed in a building connected to mains water. Beyond the UK, former Commonwealth markets — most of East and West Africa, the Gulf states (especially UAE and Qatar), India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand and the Caribbean — frequently reference WRAS as the de-facto potable-water benchmark in tender documents.
How Primepoly meets WRAS
Primepoly's PE100 water-supply pipe range carries a current WRAS Approval covering DN20 – DN1600. The product is registered in the WRAS online directory under our legal entity name (Primepoly Co., Ltd.). Each export shipment ships with a copy of the WRAS Approval certificate cross-referenced to the resin batch certificate, the ISO 9001 quality plan and the AWWA C906 / ISO 4427 compliance statement.
Key requirements at a glance
- Standard scope
- Materials and components in contact with potable water under UK regulations
- Test specification
- BS 6920 — Suitability of non-metallic products for use with potable water
- Approval validity
- 5 years, renewable subject to annual audit and unchanged formulation
- Public directory
- WRAS online directory at www.wras.co.uk/directory
- Use claim
- Approval covers Material + specific Product — do not extrapolate to unrelated SKUs
Primepoly products carrying WRAS
- PE100 HDPE potable water pipe (DN20–DN1600, SDR 7.4–SDR 21)
- Butt fusion HDPE fittings (elbows, tees, reducers, end caps)
- Electrofusion HDPE couplers and saddles
- HDPE stub ends and matched flanges for pump-room interfaces
Markets where WRAS is required or strongly preferred
Frequently asked questions
Q. Is WRAS the same as Regulation 4 approval?
Regulation 4 of the UK Water Supply Regulations is the legal obligation; WRAS Approval is the most widely accepted way of demonstrating compliance with it. Alternative routes (BSI Kitemark, KIWA UK) exist but WRAS is by far the most common.
Q. Does WRAS approval transfer to fittings made of the same material?
No — each SKU is evaluated individually. A product made of WRAS-approved resin still needs its own listing because moulding additives and processing can affect contaminant transfer.
Q. How do utilities verify a WRAS claim?
They check the WRAS online directory by product reference number. Primepoly's directory entry shows the legal entity name, factory address, product range and approval expiry date — all publicly verifiable.
Q. Is WRAS recognised in the EU?
Some EU buyers accept it informally. For full EU regulatory compliance you generally also want country-specific approvals (KIWA in NL, ACS in FR, DVGW in DE). Primepoly maintains both WRAS and EU certifications as needed.
Need a WRAS certified quotation?
Send your project specification and destination port — we ship with the WRAS certificate cross-referenced to the resin batch and product lot, ready for consultant review.
Request quotation →