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Enhancement Measures for Processing Applications for Water Supplies

The procedures of applying for water supply generally include three stages: 

1. To submit plumbing proposals to the Water Authority (WA)
2. To apply for the permission of the WA to commence the approved plumbing works
3. To apply for the WA’s inspection and approval of the completed plumbing works.

• Stage 1- Submission and Approval of Plumbing Proposals

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  Applicants are required to provide the WA with the following documents for consideration:

  • A duly completed application Form WWO 542
  • A checklist on documents for inclusion in plumbing proposals;
  • Plumbing proposals (including a Vertical Plumb Line Diagram, connection details and the meter box arrangement, etc); and
  • A duly completed Form WWO 1149 List of Pipes and Fittings intended to be Installed by the licensed Plumber (Mandatory for Village Houses and Separate Metering, optional for other applications)

  Every year, the Water Supplies Department handles a large number of applications for water supply, including those for new buildings, village houses and replumbing.

  No. of cases	New building				Village Houses				Replumbing				All kinds of cases
  	2019	2020	2021	2022	2019	2020	2021	2022	2019	2020	2021	2022	2019	2020	2021	2022
  Q1	151	101	119	115	785	410	460	335	256	246	241	190	1,559	1,315	1424	1092
  Q2	132	127	98		669	582	527		251	301	248		1,784	1,653	1566
  Q3	107	135	135		672	628	623		288	222	368		1,824	1,706	1772
  Q4	110	97	139		606	439	556		238	235	215		1,601	1342	1584
  Total	500	460	491	115	2,732	2059	2166	335	1,033	1004	1072	190	6,768	6016	6346	1092

  Table 1 - Number of application cases approved by the WA

  To streamline the  process, enhanced measures have been introduced. They include regulation of the submission arrangement and formulation of a submission check list for plumbing proposals. For more details about the application process, please refer to the Guide to Application for Water Supply.

  Stage 2 - Commencement of Plumbing Works

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  Plumbing works must NOT commence until the plumbing proposal has been approved by the WA in writing. The licensed plumber (LP) is required to submit Form WWO 46 Pt. I & II together with a duly completed Form WWO 1149 (List of Pipes and Fittings intended to be Installed) to apply for the permission of the Water Authority to proceed with the works under the approved plumbing proposal.  (For applications with Form WWO 1149 already approved with the plumbing proposal, only Form WWO 46 Part I & II is required.)

  No. of cases	New building				Village Houses				Replumbing				All kinds of cases
  	2019	2020	2021	2022	2019	2020	2021	2022	2019	2020	2021	2022	2019	2020	2021	2022
  Q1	234	260	185	164	452	341	328	193	112	112	106	63	1,475	1,398	1332	1001
  Q2	272	312	197		594	409	331		113	133	81		1,763	1,637	1456
  Q3	291	253	222		646	366	424		127	111	103		1,890	1,409	1551
  Q4	246	162	166		501	318	329		105	101	139		1,622	1281	1525
  Total	1,043	987	770	164	2,193	1434	1412	193	457	457	429	63	6,750	5725	5864	1001

  Table 2 - Number of permissions to commence plumbing works by the WA

  To facilitate preparation of the submissions, a webpage is dedicated to helping applicants to search and select the pipes and fittings with valid General Acceptance (GA) and directly convert to the format of the required Form WWO1149, which can be downloaded for printing and signing, for subsequent submission to the WA. For more details, please see Circular Letter No. 3/2017.

  Form WWO46 Pt.III will be issued to the applicant when the proposal submitted is generally acceptable.

  Stage 3 - Completion of Plumbing Works

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  Upon completion of the plumbing works, the licensed plumber is required to notify the WA immediately using Form WWO 46 Pt. IV.

  No. of cases	New building				Village Houses				Replumbing				All kinds of cases
  	2019	2020	2021	2022	2019	2020	2021	2022	2019	2020	2021	2022	2019	2020	2021	2022
  Q1	236	203	182	315	526	371	332	375	108	85	75	114	1,473	1,228	1120	1738
  Q2	204	171	114		438	449	323		81	116	92		1,280	1,367	1179
  Q3	212	181	335		532	339	290		100	96	104		1,436	1,232	1208
  Q4	305	166	149		987	345	250		189	103	77		2,720	1167	1027
  Total	957	721	780	315	2,483	1504	1195	375	478	400	348	114	6,909	4994	4534	1738

  Table 3 - Number of completed plumbing works approved by WA

  To enhance the inspection process of plumbing works and to shorten the time for completing the inspection process of cases in interim and final inspection, a "Scheme on Voluntary Submission of Inspection Checklist" was launched for the licensed plumbers (LPs) to join on a voluntary basis. Under the scheme, LPs are required to carry out an inspection on completed plumbing works and complete the respective inspection checklist for interim and/or final inspection. The completed checklist has to be certified by qualified registered professionals. Audit checks will be carried out by WSD on items of the checklist inspected by the LP and certified by qualified registered professionals. In addition, WSD would conduct checks on items not inspected by the LP on a random basis. For more details, please see Circular Letter No. 1/2018.

In view of a large number of different types of application for water supply every year, WSD has been working closely with the plumbing trade industry to enhance the procedures in Application for Water Supply. The requirements of the Water Authority will be reviewed regularly and some specific enhancement measures have been developed to facilitate submission of particular types of water supply application.

Overall Measures

• To ensure applicants understand the technical and submission requirements for applications for water supply, WSD has issued “Guide to Application for Water Supply” and “Technical Requirements for Plumbing Works in Buildings”, which elaborate on Waterworks Ordinance, Waterworks Regulations and Requirements of the Water Authority
  • Specifying the submission requirements for different types of application and streamlining the arrangement for document submission, to minimise re-submission due to incomplete submission
    • Inviting applicants to WSD offices for minor amendments or supplement of documents, to minimise time for documents exchange
    • Establishing website for searching and selecting pipes and fitting with valid “General Acceptance”, Form 1149 “List of Pipes and Fittings to be Installed” can also be generated directly for submission purpose, to allow for more efficient and accurate form filling

Application for New Buildings

• Establishing checklists for plumbing proposals, to ensure relevant regulations and requirements of the Water Authority are met
  • Listing focus for plumbing proposal approval and reference designs that meet the requirements, to reduce design mistakes, hence shorten approval time
    • Promulgating “Voluntary Submission of Inspection Checklist Scheme” to minimize time required for inspections of plumbing works

Application for Village Houses

• Early submission of list of pipes and fittings (WWO1149), allowing earlier commencement of plumbing works
  • Delinking approvals for plumbing proposals from designation of connection point, allowing commencement of plumbing works without waiting for the connection point to government mains
    • Licensed Plumbers to propose locations of supply point and connection point on government mains based on feasible private main alignment, reducing approval time for revising main alignment
    • Allowing electronic submission for new village type houses and pre-approving a series of standard plumbing design drawings, to reduce approval time for revising main alignment

Application for Catering Business, Barber & Beauty shops, Laundries and Essential Utility Installation

• Establishing a dedicated team for handling food business related and essential utility installation applications
  
  • Centralized processing by dedicated team to enhance efficiency
    • Allowing concurrent submission of plumbing proposal and application for construction, hence earlier commencement of plumbing works

Application for Temporary Water Supply for a Construction Supply

• Developer or Authorised Persons can apply for early connection works for temporary water supply to construction sites at the early stage of development projects, hence water supply can be effected earlier