LISLE, IL, April 18, 2007 -- A new agreement between Water Quality Association (WQA) and California's Department of Health Services (CDHS) could save manufacturers months of wait time before getting products to consumers and potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars.
On April 13, 2007, California's Department of Health Services authorized WQA to conduct third-party certifications for water softeners and water filters with health-effect claims.
Under the agreement, items that are already certified for NSF/ANSI Standards 44 and 53 by WQA's Gold Seal Program would not be required to submit test data or product submissions. Manufacturers must still pay the required fees to CDHS, and then they would automatically be issued a California Certificate. This significantly shortens the approval process -- from months to possibly days. Products that are not certified by either Gold Seal or NSF International, another authorized third-party certifier, would have to follow the original, longer process to receive a California Certificate.
"This agreement will benefit both industry members and California regulators through increased efficiencies," said Bruce Keswick, section head for Procter & Gamble and chair of WQA's Retail Channel. "We encourage members to use the new system for registrations in California, and we're encouraging WQA to develop this type of cooperation with other states." he said.
WQA Technical Director Joseph F. Harrison, CWS-VI, PE said, "It is a landmark achievement that will accomplish tremendous efficiency and cost-saving improvements for both CDHS and for manufacturers of point-of-use and point-of-entry drinking water treatment products."
Leah Godsey Walker, PE, is chief of the Technical Operations Section for California's Drinking Water Technical Programs Branch. She and her staff worked with WQA on the agreement. Walker also attended WQA Aquatech USA in March to report on progress. She confirmed that, at the time, the agreement was near final, and assured applications with an existing third-party certification will move through the process more quickly.
Walker also cited NSF/ANSI Standard 58 for reverse osmosis equipment as next in line for a potential third-party certification arrangement. "Now that we've got the processes down, hopefully that one will go a lot faster," she said.
The Water Quality Association (WQA) is the not-for-profit trade association representing the residential, commercial, industrial, and small system POU/POE water treatment industry.
The Gold Seal Product Certification Program is solely dedicated to the certification of drinking water-related products. To help consumers choose quality water treatment products, WQA only awards the Gold Seal to those systems, components, or additives that have met or exceeded industry standards for contaminant reduction, structural integrity, and material safety. The Gold Seal mark guarantees consumers and regulators that a product has been certified by an independent third-party organization. WQA issued the first Gold Seal in 1959.
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