First code of practice for water safety planning published by BSI
1 June 2020
BSI, in its role as the UK National Standards Body, has published BS 8680:2020 Water quality. Water Safety Plans. Code of practice.This new code of practice meets longstanding industry need for authoritative recommendations and guidance for Water Safety Planning to help ensure public health and safety.
This new British Standard is intended for those responsible for water safety planning, and others involved in water systems management, to help demonstrate current good practice and compliance. It is an ideal tool for developing, implementing and communicating with stakeholders who have environmental health and facilities management responsibilities.
David Fatscher, Head of Environment, Sustainability and Governance Standards at BSI said: “The Water Safety Planning approach is based on identifying all significant risks to public health, ensuring that effective controls and barriers are applied, to minimize these risks to acceptable levels and maintain safety. BS 8680 is the first code of practice that provides detailed guidance on how to demonstrate good water safety planning.”
The standard provides a preventative risk-management approach, based on a methodology developed by the World Health Organization. It supplements the UK national guidance for healthcare premises. The Water Safety Plan is a critical foundation for risk control and would be very useful for those auditing and inspecting premises. This will assist the Water Safety Group(WSG) to ensure they have a holistic approach to water safety across all types of systems and equipment which use or contain water. It can be applied to all types of premises and undertakings with water systems which can pose a risk to those exposed, either from the water itself or aerosols derived. It can be used to develop a Water Safety Plan for new buildings, modifications and renovations to existing water systems and can also be applied retrospectively to control risks to health from all types of water use.
The standard is available for download here.
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Notes to the editor:
1Technical committee representatives
Royal Society of Public Health, Pool Water Treatment Advisory Group, Water Management Society, Legionella Control Association, Great Ormand Street Hospital, British Association of Chemical Specialities, UKAS, Building Services Research and Information Association, Public Health England, Healthcare Infection Society, Royal Institute of British Architects, Belfast Health & Social Care Trust, Department for Environment, Farming and Rural Affairs, Drinking Water Inspectorate, Water UK.