(a) The City of Charles Town Utility Board recognizes that Cross-Connections and Backflow conditions either existing or potential in a public water system and/or a customer’s water distribution system pose a threat to the public health and the environment. Therefore, the following program and articles of policy apply to our public water system (Water Purveyor) and to our customer’s water distribution system(s) (Owner).
(b) Purpose:
(1) To protect the public water system served by the City of Charles Town Utility Board from the possibility of contamination or pollution by isolating within its customer’s internal distribution water system(s), such contaminants or pollutants that could backflow due to back-pressure or back-siphonage into the public water system.
(2) To promote the elimination and/or control of cross-connections and backflow conditions, actual or potential, within a customer’s in-plant potable water system(s) and non-potable systems.
(3) To provide for the maintenance of a continuing program of cross- connection control which will effectively prevent the contamination or pollution of the public and/or customer’s water system(s) from cross- connections.
(c) Authority:
(1) By the Federal Safe Drinking Water Act of 1974 and 1996 amendment, and the Code of West Virginia Chapter 16, Article 1 Public Health Laws, WV Bureau for Public Health Chapter 1, Article 5B, the Water Purveyor has the primary responsibility for preventing water from unapproved sources, or any other substances, from entering the public potable water system.
(2) City of Charles Town Utility Board, Rules and Regulations, adopted.
(d) Responsibility: The Water Purveyor shall be responsible for the protection of the public potable water distribution system from contamination or pollution due to backflow from back-pressure or back-siphonage of contaminants or pollutants through the water service connection. If, in the judgment of the Water Purveyor, an approved backflow preventer assembly is required at the water service connection to any customer’s premises, the Water Purveyor, or his delegated agent, shall give notice in writing to said customer to install an approved backflow preventer assembly at each service connection to his premises. The customer shall, within ninety (90) days, install such approved assembly, or assemblies, at his own expense, and failure or refusal, or inability on the part of the customer to install said assembly or assemblies within ninety (90) days, shall constitute grounds for discontinuing water service to the premises until such assembly or assemblies have been properly installed.
(e) Definitions:
(1) Approved shall mean, accepted by the Water Purveyor as meeting an applicable specification stated, or cited in the WV Department of Health and Human Resources regulation, or as suitable for the proposed purpose.
(2) Auxiliary Water Supply shall mean, any water supply or water source, on or available, to a customer’s premises other than the Water Purveyor’s approved public water system.
(3) Backflow shall mean, the flow of water or other liquids, mixtures or substances, under positive or reduced pressure in the distribution pipes of a potable water supply from any source other than its intended source.
(4) Backflow Preventer shall mean, a device or assembly, or means designed to prevent backflow in a potable water system. Most commonly categorized as air gap, atmospheric vacuum breaker, barometric loop, double check with intermediate atmospheric vent, double check valve assembly, hose bibb vacuum breaker, pressure vacuum breaker, reduced pressure principle assembly, and residential dual check.
A. Air Gap: A physical separation sufficient to prevent backflow between the free-flowing discharge end of the potable water system and any other system. Physically defined as a distance equal to twice the diameter of the supply side pipe diameter but never less than one (1) inch.
B. Atmospheric Vacuum Breaker: A device which prevents backflow by creating an atmospheric vent when there is either a negative pressure or sub-atmospheric pressure in a water system.
C. Barometric Loop: A fabricated piping arrangement rising at least thirty- five (35) feet at its topmost point above the highest fixture it supplies. It is utilized in water supply systems to protect against back-siphonage.
D. Double Check Valve Assembly: An assembly of two (2) independently operating spring loaded check valves with tightly closing shut-off valves on each side of the check valves, and properly located test cocks for the testing of each check valve.
E. Double Check Valve with Intermediate Atmospheric Vent: A device having two (2) spring loaded check valves separated by an atmospheric vacuum breaker.
F. Hose Bibb Vacuum Breaker: A device attached to a hose bibb and which acts as an atmospheric vacuum breaker.
G. Pressure Vacuum Breaker: An assembly containing an independently operated spring loaded check valve and an independently operated spring loaded air inlet valve located on the discharge side of the check valve. The assembly includes tightly closing shut-off valves on each side of the valves and properly located test cocks for the testing of the check and air valve.
H. Reduced Pressure Principle Backflow Preventer: An assembly consisting of two (2) independently operating approved check valves with an automatically operating differential relief valve located between the two (2) check valves, tightly closing shut-off valves on each side of the check valves plus properly located test cocks for the testing of the chick valves and the relief valve.
I. Residential Dual Check: A device consisting of two (2) spring loaded, independently operating check valves. Generally employed immediately downstream of the water meter to act as a fixture isolation device.
(5) Backpressure shall mean, a condition in which the customer’s system pressure is greater than the water purveyor’s system pressure.
(6) Back-Siphonage shall mean, the flow of water or other liquids, mixtures or substances into the distribution pipes of a potable water system from any source other than the primary source caused by the sudden reduction of pressure or negative pressure in the potable water system.
(7) Community Water System shall mean, a public water system that serves at least 25 residents year around or that has 15 service connections serving year around residents.
(8) Containment (external protection) shall mean, a method of backflow prevention which requires a backflow preventer assembly be installed after the meter and prior to any water service entrance.
(9) Contaminant shall mean, a substance that will impair the quality of potable water to a degree that it creates a serious health hazard to the public leading to poisoning or the spread of disease.
(10) Cross-Connection shall mean, any actual or potential, direct or indirect, connection between the public water system and an unapproved water supply or other source of contamination or pollution.
(11) Cross-Connection and Backflow Prevention Manual shall mean the manual provided by the Bureau for Public Health, dated March 2002, to be used as a reference document and training manual for public water supply personnel, health officials, plumbers and other s involved in water supply distribution systems.
(12) Customer shall mean, as a billing unit or service connection to which drinking water is delivered by a public water system. A customer may also be identified as an owner.
(13) Degree of Hazard shall mean, the potential risk to health and the potential adverse effects upon the public water system based on the probability of backflow occurring and the type or nature of the contaminant. A health hazard is any condition, device or practice which creates or may create a danger to health and well being of the water consumer. A severe health hazard is any health hazard (contaminant) that could be expected to result in significant morbidity or death. A non-health hazard (pollutant) is any condition that could degrade the quality or adversely affect the public water system.
(14) Device shall mean, a single body backflow preventer with one or two check valves that cannot be tested and does not have shut off valves or test cocks.
(15) Fixture Isolation (internal isolation) shall mean, a method of backflow prevention where a backflow preventer is located to control a cross- connection or potential source of contamination at an in-plant piece of equipment or process location other than at a water service entrance.
(16) Owner shall mean, any person who has legal title to, or license to operate, or resides in a property or facility which is supplied drinking water from a public water system; may also be referred to as a customer.
(17) Person shall mean, any individual, partnership, company, public or private corporation, political subdivision, agency of the State, agency or instrumentality of the United States, or any other legal entity.
(18) Pollutant shall mean, a foreign substance, if permitted to enter the public water system, will degrade potable water quality so as to constitute a moderate hazard, or impair the usefulness of the water to a degree which does not create an actual hazard to the public health, but which does adversely and unreasonably affect (appearance or color, odor, taste, etc.) the water for domestic use.
(19) Potable Water shall mean, water that is safe for human consumption as described by the West Virginia Bureau for Public Health.
(20) Public Water System shall include the works, auxiliaries, for the collection, treatment, storage and distribution of drinking water from the source of supply to a customer’s premises. May also be known as a water purveyor.
(21) Water Purveyor shall mean, the Municipal Water Department, Water Board, Public Service District or other administrative authority invested with the authority and responsibility for a public water system.
(22) Water Service Entrance shall mean, that point in the customer’s water system beyond the sanitary control of the public water system (water purveyor), generally considered to by the outlet end of the water meter and always before any unprotected branch water line.
(23) West Virginia Bureau for Public Health (WVBPH) shall mean, the State of West Virginia Bureau for Public Health.
(f) Administration:
(1) The Water Purveyor will establish, operate and promote a Cross- Connection and Backflow Prevention Control Program, to include the keeping of necessary records, which fulfills the requirement of the WVBPH Cross-Connections and Backflow Prevention Regulations.
(2) The Owner shall allow his property to be inspected for possible cross- connections and backflow conditions, and shall follow the provisions of the Water Purveyor’s program and the WVBPH Cross-Connections and Backflow Prevention Regulations where a cross-connection is permitted.
(3) If the Water Purveyor requires that the public water system be protected by containment, the Owner shall be responsible for the installation and maintenance of the required backflow preventer assembly(ies) and for water quality beyond the outlet end of the containment assembly(ies) and could utilize fixture isolation protection for that purpose. The Owner may also seek local public health officials, or personnel from the Water Purveyor, or their designated representatives, or certified/licensed private sector personnel to assist him/her in the survey of their facility(ies) and to assist him/her in the selection of proper containment assemblies and/or fixtures isolation devices, and the proper installation of these assemblies/devices.
(g) Requirements:
(1) Water Purveyor.
A. On new installations, the Water Purveyor will provide an on-site evaluation and/or inspection of plans in order to determine the type of backflow preventer assembly(ies), if any, that will be required and will perform inspection and testing.
B. For premises existing prior to the start of this program, the Water Purveyor will perform evaluations and inspections of plans and/or premises for actual and potential cross-connections and backflow conditions and inform the owner by letter of any corrective action deemed necessary, the method of achieving the correction, and the time allowed for the correction to be made. Ordinarily, ninety (90) days will be allowed. However, this time period may be shortened depending upon the degree of hazard involved and the history of the device(s)/assembly(ies) already in place.
C. The Water Purveyor will not allow any actual or potential cross- connection to remain unless it is protected by an approved air gap or backflow preventer assembly(ies) and which must be regularly tested or inspected to insure satisfactory operation.
D. The Water Purveyor shall inform the Owner by letter, of any failure to comply, prior to a re-inspection. The Water Purveyor will allow an additional fifteen (15) days for the corrections(s). In the event the Owner fails to comply with the necessary correction(s) by the time of a second re-inspection, the Water Purveyor will inform the Owner by letter, that the water service to the Owner’s premises will be terminated within a period not to exceed five (5) days. In the event that the Owner informs the Water Purveyor of extenuating circumstances as to why the correction(s) has not been made, a time extension may be granted by the Water Purveyor, but in no case will exceed an additional thirty (30) days.
E. If the Water Purveyor determines at any time that a serious threat to the public health exists, water service will be terminated immediately.
F. The Water Purveyor will conduct initial and follow-up premise inspections to determine the nature of existing or potential hazards. The main focus will be on high hazard industries and commercial premises.
(2) Owner.
A. The Owner shall be responsible for the elimination or protection of all actual or potential cross-connections and/or backflow conditions on his/her premises.
B. The Owner, after having been informed by a letter from the Water Purveyor, shall at his expense, install, maintain, and test, or have tested, any and all backflow preventer assemblies on his premises.
C. The owner shall correct within thirty (30) days any malfunction or an air gap or backflow preventer assembly(ies) which is revealed by periodic inspection or testing. This may involve the removal and/or replacement of the backflow preventer assembly(ies)
D. The Owner shall inform the Water Purveyor of any proposed or modified cross-connections and also any existing cross-connections of which the Owner is aware, but have not been found by the Water Purveyor.
E. The Owner shall not install a by-pass around any backflow preventer assembly unless there is a backflow preventer assembly of the same type on the by-pass. Owners who cannot shut down operation for testing of the assembly(ies) must supply additional assemblies necessary to allow testing to take place.
F. The Owner shall install backflow preventer assemblies approved by the Water Purveyor or the WVBPH.
G. The Owner shall install backflow preventer assemblies in a manner approved by the Water Purveyor and general industry standards.
H. Any Owner having a private well or other auxiliary water source must have the approval of the Water Purveyor and the WVBPH if the well or source is cross-connected to the Water Purveyor’s system. Permission to cross-connect may be denied. The Owner may be required to install a backflow preventer assembly at the service entrance if a private water source is maintained, even if it is not cross-connected to the Water Purveyor’s system.
I. In the event the Owner installs plumbing to provide potable water for domestic purposes which is on the Water Purveyor’s side of a backflow preventer assembly, such plumbing must have its own backflow preventer assembly installed.
J. The Owner shall be responsible for the payment of all fees for service, permits, periodic assembly testing, retesting in the case that a backflow preventer assembly fails to operate correctly, and follow-up re-inspections for non-compliance with the Water Purveyor or WVBPH requirements.
(h) Degree of Hazard: The Water Purveyor recognizes the threat to the public water system arising from cross-connections and backflow conditions. All threats will be classified by degree of hazard which will determine the requirements for the installation of approved backflow preventer assemblies in accordance with the Cross-Connection and Backflow Prevention Manual dated March, 2002. The following list contains industries, commercial establishments and other facilities that have historically posed threats to the public water supply and includes, but is not limited to, automotive manufacturing plants, chemical, planting, processing plants, chemical tank car cleaning facilities, breweries, bottling plants, canneries, packing houses, meat processing operations, dairy processing operations, photographic developing laboratories, research laboratories, oil and gas production, storage or transmission operations, power plants, Hospitals, medical buildings, sanitariums, nursing or convalescent homes, clinics, dentist offices, mortuaries, morgues, funeral homes, refrigeration or cold storage plants, laundries, dry cleaning operations, car washes, grain elevators, restaurants, taverns, beauty salons, barber shops, greenhouses, marinas, schools, churches, parks, golf courses (lawn sprinkling systems), cemeteries (lawn sprinkling systems), sewage treatment plants, sewage lift stations, water treatment plants, private homes with wells, swimming pools, lawn sprinkling systems and apartment complexes.
(i) Existing In-Use Backflow Prevention Devices: Any existing backflow preventer assembly shall be allowed by the Water Purveyor to continue in service unless the degree of hazard is such as to supersede the effectiveness of the present backflow preventer assembly, or there is an unreasonable risk to the public health. Where the degree of hazard has increased, as in the case of a residential installation converting to a business establishment any existing backflow preventer assemblies must be upgraded to a reduced pressure principle assembly, or a reduced pressure principle assembly must be installed in the event that no backflow preventer assembly is present.
(j) Periodic Testing:
(1) Backflow preventer assemblies shall be tested and inspected at least annually.
(2) Periodic testing shall be performed by a WVBPH certified tester. This testing will be done at the Owner’s expense.
(3) Any backflow preventer assembly which fails during a periodic test will be repaired or replaced. When repairs are necessary, upon completion of the repair, the assembly will be retested at the Owner’s expense to ensure correct operation. High hazard situations will not be allowed to continue unprotected if the backflow preventer assembly fails the periodic test and cannot be repaired immediately. In other situations, a compliance date of not more than thirty (30) days after the test date may be established. The Owner is responsible for the costs of all testing, repair service, replacement parts, or a replacement assembly. Parallel installation of two (2) assemblies is an effective means of the owner insuring uninterrupted water service during testing or repair of one of the assemblies and is strongly recommended when the Owner desires such continuity.
(4) Backflow preventer assemblies will be tested more frequently than specified in #1. above in cases where there is a history of test failures and the Water Purveyor feels that due to the degree of hazard involved, additional testing is warranted. Cost of the additional tests will be born by the Owner.
(k) Records:
(1) The Water Purveyor will initiate and maintain (update) the following:
A. Master files on customer cross-connections.
B. Master files on customer backflow preventer tests, repairs and replacements.
C. Copies of any of the above and other records and/or reports supplied to the WVBPH.
(2) Upon request, the Water Purveyor will submit records of inspection and non-compliance, surveys, tests results and/or corrective actions, and backflow incident reports to the West Virginia Bureau for Public Health.
(Passed 9-4-07.)