In a story run by Sky News last week an Ofwat spokeswoman was quoted as saying that pipes made of HDPE could leak shortly after they had been installed.
"This is because the same pressures that act on old pipes still act on new pipes, namely movements in the earth and changes in the temperature," she added.
The British Plastics Federation (BPF) quickly rejected Ofwat's comments and the PPG, headed by president Martin Gisbourne, has now asked for a meeting with officials at the watchdog to clear up the confusion.
“What they said was factually incorrect and we want to meet them to get to the bottom of this,” Gisbourne said, adding that a date for a meeting had yet to be confirmed.
Following criticism of its remarks, which it said were taken out of context, Ofwat told PRW that HDPE pipes were “the best available option” and that it fully supported their installation.
However despite this the PPG said it was still pressing for a get-together with the watchdog.
Gisbourne's comments came as the PPG, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, presented its case for plastic pipes across the UK economy.
He called for an end to the “onerous regulation” which was weighted against the sector, compared with what some term 'traditional' materials.
“Plastic has been in use for a long time, so why isn't it regarded as 'traditional',” Gisbourne said.
“Our members have to subject their products to rigorous testing procedures compared with other so-called 'traditional' pipe technologies,” he added.
Noting the PPG's landmark anniversary Gisbourne said the group remained relevant and had an important role to play in engaging with regulators and policymakers to ensure they were not misinformed about the industry's products.
