Revision of technical standards for planning, construction and operation of drinking water installations
Drinking water installations must guarantee the health and purity of the drinking water supplied. This is required in particular by the code of practice and the German Drinking Water Ordinance (Trinkwasserverordnung).
A self-contained set of rules for drinking water installation (TRWI) is desirable and necessary to ensure that these requirements can be met in the future. It summarises both the national and the European regulations in an understandable way.
In addition, the regulations should be accompanied by an active monitoring system in buildings.
Further development and restructuring of DIN EN 806
The aim of DIN EN 806 "Specifications for installations inside buildings conveying water for human consumption" is to create the basis for a reliable, technically perfect and safe drinking water supply. During planning, construction and operation, the installation according to "Type A: Closed System", as regulated in the five parts of the European standard DIN EN 806, is applied. Here, the World Health Organization (WHO) is of the opinion that, in addition to the proven final inspection, further elements for preventive quality assurance are necessary to ensure drinking water quality.
With this in mind, the EU Commission requires compliance with limit values in its Drinking Water Directive and defines in the annex the samples for monitoring compliance with certain chemical (especially copper, lead, nickel) and microbiological parameters. These measures refer to the concept of "Water Safety Plans" that the WHO has been developing since 2004.
This concept is based on the principles of risk assessment and management.
"Water-Safety-Plan" - Integration (WSP)
Consequently, a current "TRWI Regelwerk" (Guidelines for Design, Installation and Maintenance for potable water installations within buildings) must also contain a preventive system that guarantees the high quality of drinking water and thus the safety of the consumer.
One such system is the "Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points" concept introduced in the food industry. It is used for risk analysis. Transferred to the building it provides control points at critical points of the installation. For example, you can check the temperature of drinking water so that different requirements can be reconciled: On the one hand, for energy reasons, the heat requirement of a house for heating and heated drinking water is to be reduced. On the other hand, drinking water should contain as few harmful germs or bacteria as possible.
Legionella, however, is a natural component present in low concentrations in cold drinking water. At temperatures between 30 and 45 °C they multiply strongly. Above 55 °C they are killed off (above 70 °C it is a thermal disinfection).
The European standardization body CEN TC 164 WG 2 has been working intensively in recent months on the preparation of a technical report (TR) on the Water Safety Plan in Buildings. This will be published in 2021 and will complement the European regulations.
Participation in the revision of the technical rules for drinking water installations
The technical rules for drinking water installations (EN 806 series, DIN 1988 series and EN 1717) have been revised and updated since 2015 with the strong participation of figawa member companies. Representatives of figawa are significantly involved as chairpersons and convenors. The aim is to create a collateral standard (EN 806 series and EN 1717) by 2024.
The probably necessary national collateral standards (DIN 1988) are already being checked for topicality and compared with European developments.