As used in this chapter:
(a) Approved. "Approved" means accepted as meeting an applicable specification stated or cited in this chapter or as suitable for the proposed use.
(b) Auxiliary Water Supply. "Auxiliary Water Supply" means any water supply, on or available to a premises, other than the generally recognized public potable water supply. These auxiliary waters may include water from another purveyor's public potable water supply or any natural source such as a well, spring, river, stream, harbor, etc., or "used waters" or "industrial fluids." They may be polluted or contaminated or they may be objectionable and constitute an unacceptable water source over which the Water Purveyor does not have sanitary control.
(c) Backflow. "Backflow" means the flow of water or other liquids, mixtures or substances into the distribution pipes of a potable water supply from any source or sources other than its intended source. Back-siphonage is one type of backflow.
(d) Backflow Preventer. "Backflow preventer" means a device or means to prevent backflow.
(1) Air-gap primary prevention. "Air-gap primary prevention" means the unobstructed vertical distance through the free atmosphere from the lowest opening from any pipe or faucet supplying water to a tank, plumbing fixture or other device to the flood level rim of the receptacle. An approved air-gap shall be at least double the diameter of the supply pipe, measured vertically above the top rim of the vessel, and in no case less than one inch. When an air-gap is used to prevent contamination of the public potable water system, an approved reduced pressure device shall be installed in the bypass.
(2) Reduced pressure principal primary prevention. The term "approved reduced pressure principal backflow prevention device" means a device approved by a recognized and Authority-approved testing agency for backflow prevention devices. It shall incorporate two or more check valves, an automatically operating differential relief valve located between the two checks, and two tightly closing shut-off valves, and shall be equipped with the necessary appurtenances for testing. The device shall operate to maintain a condition in which the pressure in the zone between the two check valves is less than the pressure on the public water supply side of the device. At cessation of normal flow, the pressure between check valves shall be less than the supply pressure. In case of the leakage of either check valve, the differential relief valve shall operate to maintain this reduced pressure by discharging to the atmosphere. When the inlet pressure is two pounds per square inch or less, the relief valve shall open to the atmosphere, thereby providing an air-gap in the device. To be approved, these devices must be readily accessible for maintenance and testing and installed in a location where no part of the valve will be submerged.
(3) Double check valve assembly secondary prevention. "Double check valve assembly secondary prevention" means an assembly of at least two independently acting approved check valves, including tightly closing shut-off valves on each side of the check valve assembly and suitable leak detector drains plus connections available for testing the water tightness of each valve. The entire assembly shall meet the specifications and approval of a recognized and Authority-approved testing agency for backflow prevention devices. To be approved, these devices must be readily accessible for maintenance and testing.
(e) Contamination. "Contamination" means an impairment of the quality of water by sewage or industrial fluids, waste or any other substance, to a degree which creates an actual hazard to the public health, such as, but not limited to, poisoning or the spread of disease. See also "Pollution."
(f) Cross Connection. "Cross Connection" means any physical connection or arrangement of piping or fixtures between two otherwise separate piping systems, one of which contains potable water and the other nonpotable water or industrial fluids of questionable safety, through which, or because of which, backflow may occur. A water service connection between a public potable water distribution system and a customer's water distribution system, which connection is cross-connected to a contaminated fixture, industrial fluid system or with a potentially contaminated supply or auxiliary water system, constitutes one type of cross connection. Other types of cross connections include connectors such as swing connections, removable sections, four-way plug valves, spools, dummy sections of pipe, swivel or changeover devices, sliding multiport tube, etc.
(g) Cross Connection Control by Containment. "Cross connection control by containment" means the installation of an approved backflow device immediately after the meter on any customer's premises where an actual or potential cross connection exists on a customer's water system.
(h) Cross Connection, Controlled. "Controlled cross connection" means a connection between a potable water system and a nonpotable water system with an approved built-in backflow preventer that will continuously afford protection commensurate with the degree of hazard.
(i) Greater Johnstown Water Authority. "Greater Johnstown Water Authority" means the utility in charge of supplying potable water to consumers within the City, which utility is invested with the authority and responsibility for the implementation of an effective cross connection control program and for the enforcement of the provisions of this chapter.
(j) Hazard, Degree of. "Degree of hazard" is the term derived from an evaluation of the potential risk to public health and the adverse effect upon the potable water system.
(1) Hazard, Health. "Health hazard" means any condition, device or practice in the water supply system and its operation which could create, or in the judgment of the Water Purveyor may create, a danger to the health and well-being of the water consumer. An example of a health hazard is a structural defect, including cross connections, in a water supply system.
(2) Hazard, Plumbing. "Plumbing hazard" means a plumbing-type cross connection in a consumer's potable water system that has not been properly protected by a vacuum breaker, air-gap separation or other device. Unprotected plumbing-type cross connections are considered to be a health hazard.
(3) Hazard, Pollutional. "Pollutional hazard" means an actual or potential threat to the physical properties of the water system or the potability of the public or the consumer's potable water system, which threat would constitute a nuisance or be aesthetically objectionable or which could cause damage to the system or its appurtenances, but would not be dangerous to health.
(4) Hazard, System. "System hazard" means an actual or potential threat of severe damage to the physical properties of the public potable water system or the consumer's potable water system, or of a pollution or contamination which would have a protracted effect on the quality of the potable water in the system.
(k) Industrial Fluids System. "Industrial fluids system" means any system containing a fluid or solution which may be chemically, biologically or otherwise contaminated or polluted in a form or concentration such as would constitute a health, system, pollutional or plumbing hazard if introduced into a public potable water supply. This may include, but not be limited to: polluted or contaminated water; all types of process waters and "used water" originating from the public potable water system which may have deteriorated in sanitary quality; chemicals in fluid form; plating acids and alkalies; circulated cooling waters that are connected to an open cooling tower and/or cooling waters that are chemically or biologically treated or stabilized with toxic substances; contaminated natural waters such as may come from wells, springs, streams, rivers, bays, harbors, seas, irrigation canals, or systems, etc.; oils, gases, glycerine, paraffines, caustic and acid solutions and other liquid and gaseous fluids used in industrial or other processes or for fire-fighting purposes.
(l) Pollution. "Pollution" means the presence of any foreign substance (organic, inorganic, radiological or biological) in water which tends to degrade the quality of the water so as to constitute a hazard or impair the usefulness or quality of the water to a degree which does not create an actual hazard to the public health, but does adversely and unreasonably affect such waters for domestic use. See also "Contamination."
(m) Public Water System. "Public water system" means a system for the provision to the public of piped water for human consumption, if such system has at least fifteen service connections or regularly services at least twenty-five individuals.
(n) Water, potable. "Potable water" means any water which, according to recognized standards, is safe for human consumption.
(o) Water, nonpotable. "Nonpotable water" means water which is not safe for human consumption or which is of questionable potability.
(p) Water Service Connection. "Water service connection" means the terminal end of a service connection from the potable water system, i.e. where the Water Purveyor loses jurisdiction and sanitary control over the water at its point of delivery to the consumer's water system. There should be no unprotected takeoffs from the service line ahead of any meter or backflow prevention device located at the point of delivery to the consumer's water system. "Service connection" shall also include a water service connection from a fire hydrant and all other temporary or emergency water service connections from the public potable water system.
(q) Water System.
(1) The "water system" shall be considered a made up of two parts: the utility system and the customer system.
(2) The "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) The "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.
(r) Water, Used. "Used water" means any water supplied by a Water Purveyor from a public potable water system to a consumer's water system after it has passed through the point of delivery and is no longer under the sanitary control of the Water Purveyor.
(Ord. 4533. Passed 6-13-90.)