(A) Water system.
(1) The water system shall be considered as made up of two parts: The Utility System and the Customer System.
(2) Utility System shall consist of the source facilities and the distribution system; and shall include all those facilities of the water system under the complete control of the utility, up to the point where the customer's system begins.
(3) That source shall include all components of the facilities utilized in the production, treatment, storage and delivery of water to the distribution system.
(4) The distribution system shall include the network of conduits used for the delivery of water from the source to the customer's system.
(5) The customer's system shall include those parts of the facilities beyond the termination of the utility distribution system which are utilized in conveying utility-delivered domestic water to points of use.
(B) Policy.
(1) No water service connection to any premises shall be installed or maintained by the Water Purveyor unless the water supply is protected as required by state laws and regulations and this ordinance. Service of water to any premises shall be discontinued by the Water Purveyor if a backflow prevention assembly required by this ordinance is not installed, tested and maintained, or if it is found that a backflow prevention assembly has been removed, by-passed, or if an unprotected cross-connection exists on the premises. Service will not be restored until such conditions or defects are corrected.
(2) The customer's system should be open for inspection at all reasonable times to authorized representatives of the city to determine whether cross-connections or other structural or sanitary hazards, including violations of these regulations, exist. When such a condition becomes known, the Director shall deny or immediately discontinue service to the premises by providing for a physical break in the service line until the customer has corrected the condition(s) in conformance with the state and city statutes relating to plumbing and water supplies and the regulations adopted pursuant thereto.
(3) An approved backflow prevention assembly shall also be installed on each service line to a customer's water system at or near the property line or immediately inside the building being served; but, in all cases, before the first branch line leading off the service line wherever the following conditions exist:
(a) In the case of premises having an auxiliary water supply which is not or may not be of safe bacteriological or chemical quality and which is not acceptable as an additional source by the Director, the public water system shall be protected against backflow from the premises by installing an approved backflow prevention assembly in the service line appropriate to the degree of hazard.
(b) In the case of premises on which any industrial fluids or any other objectionable substance is handled in such a fashion as to create an actual or potential hazard to the public water system, the public system shall be protected against backflow from the premises by installing an approved backflow prevention assembly in the service line appropriate to the degree of hazard. This shall include the handling of process waters and waters originating from the utility system which have been subject to deterioration in quality.
(c) In the case of premises having internal cross-connection that cannot be permanently corrected or controlled, or intricate plumbing and piping arrangements or where entry to all portions of the premises is not readily accessible for inspection purposes making it impracticable or impossible to ascertain whether or not dangerous cross-connections exist, the public water system shall be protected against backflow from the premises by installing an approved backflow prevention assembly in the service line.
(4) The type of protection that shall be provided to prevent backflow into the public water supply shall be commensurate with the degree of hazard that exists on the consumer's premises. The type of protective device that may be required (listed in an increasing level of protection) includes: Double Check Valve Assembly - (DC), Reduced Pressure Principle Backflow Prevention Device (RP), and an Air-gap Separation - (AG). The water user may choose a higher level of protection than required by the water supplier. The minimum types of backflow protection required to protect the public water supply, at the water user's connection to premises with various degrees of hazard are given in Table 1 (see § 15.18.040). Situations which are not covered in Table 1 shall be evaluated on a case-by-case basis and the appropriate backflow protection shall be determined by the water supplier or health agency.
(C) Testing and maintenance of backflow presenters.
(1) The water supplier shall assure that adequate maintenance and periodic testing are provided by the water user to ensure their proper operation.
(2) Backflow presenters shall be tested by persons who have demonstrated their competency in testing of these devices to the water supplier or health agency.
(3) Backflow presenters shall be tested at least annually or more frequently if determined to be necessary by the health agency or water supplier. When devices are found to be defective, they shall be repaired or replaced in accordance with the provisions of this chapter.
(4) Backflow presenters shall be tested immediately after they are installed, relocated or repaired and not placed in service unless they are functioning as required.
(5) The water supplier shall notify the water user when testing of backflow presenters is needed. The notice shall contain the date when the test must be completed.
(6) Reports of testing and maintenance shall be maintained by the water supplier for a minimum of three years.
(7) Any backflow prevention assembly required herein shall be a model and size approved by the Director. The term “Approved Backflow Preven-tion Assembly” shall mean an assembly that has been manufactured in full conformance with the standards established by the American Water Works Association entitled:
AWWA C 506-84 Standards for Reduced Pressure Principles and Double Check Valve Backflow Prevention Devices; and, have met completely the laboratory and field performance specifications of the Foundation for Cross-Connection Control and Hydraulic Research of the University of Southern California established by:
Specifications of Backflow Prevention Assemblies-Section 10 of the most current issue of the MANUAL OF CROSS-CONNECTION CONTROL
The AWWA and FCCC&HR standards and specifica-tions have been adopted by the Director. Final approval shall be evidenced by a “Certificate of Approval” issued by an approved testing laboratory certifying full compliance with the AWWA standards and FCCC&HR specifications: The following testing laboratory has been qualified by the Director to test and certify backflow presenters:
Foundation for Cross-Connection Control and Hydraulic Research University of Southern California
University Park
Los Angeles, California 90089-0231
Testing laboratories other than the laboratory listed above will be added to an approved list as they are qualified by the Director.
(8) Backflow presenters which may be subjected to backpressure or backsiphonage that have been fully tested and have been granted a Certificate of Approval by the qualified laboratory and are listed on the laboratory's current list of “Approved Backflow Prevention Assemblies” may be used without further test or qualification.
(9) It shall be the duty of the customer-user at any premises where backflow prevention assemblies are installed to have certified inspections and operational tests made at left once per year. In those instances where the Director deems the hazard to be great enough he may require certified inspections at more frequent intervals. These inspections and tests shall be at the expense of the water user and shall be performed by the assembly manufacturer's representative, Department of Water and Power personnel or by a certified tester approved by the Director. It shall be the duty of the Director to see that these tests are made in a timely manner. The customer-user shall notify the Director in advance when the tests are to be undertaken so that an official representative may witness the tests if so desired. These assemblies shall be repaired overhauled or replaced at the expense of the customer-user whenever the assemblies are found to be defective. Records of such tests, repairs and overhaul shall be kept and made available to the Director.
(10) All presently installed backflow prevention assemblies which do not meet the requirements of this section but were approved devices for the purposes described herein at the time of installa-tion and which have been properly maintained, shall, except for the inspection and maintenance require-ments under division (C)(9) of this section be excluded from the requirements of these rules so long as the Director is assured that they will satisfactorily protect the utility system. Whenever the existing device is moved from the present location or requires more than minimum maintenance or when the Director finds that the maintenance constitutes a hazard to health, the unit shall be replaced by an approved backflow prevention assembly meeting the requirements of this section.
('86 Code, § 15.18.030) (Ord. 4073, passed - - )