(a) No water service connection to any premises shall be approved by the Water Purveyor unless the water supply is protected as required by State law and regulations and by this chapter. Service of water to any premises shall be discontinued by the Water Purveyor if a backflow prevention device required by this chapter is not installed, tested and maintained, or if it is found that a backflow prevention device has been removed or bypassed, or if an unprotected cross connection exists on the premises. Service will not be restored until such conditions or defects are corrected.
(b) The customer's system should be open for inspection at all reasonable times to authorized representatives of the Water Purveyor to determine whether these regulations, exist. The municipality shall be notified prior to any such inspections and as soon as any problems occur. When such a condition of hazard becomes known, the Water Purveyor 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 in conformance with State, County and City law relating to plumbing and water supplies and the regulations adopted pursuant thereto.
(c) An approved backflow prevention device shall be installed on each service line to a customer's water system, at or near the property line or immediately after the meter inside the building being served, but in all cases before the first branch line leading off the service line, wherever the following conditions exist:
(1) 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 Water Purveyor, the public water system shall be protected against backflow from the premises by installing a backflow prevention device in the service line.
(2) In the case of premises on which any industrial fluids or any other objectionable substances are 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 the installation of a backflow prevention device in the service line. This shall include the handling of process waters and waters originating from the utility system which have been subject to deterioration in quality.
(3) In the case of premises having internal cross connections that cannot be permanently corrected and 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 have primary maximum protection against backflow from the premises by the installation of a backflow prevention device in the service line.
(d) The type of protection device required under subsection (c) hereof shall depend on the degree of hazard which exists, as follows:
(1) In the case of any premises where there is an auxiliary water supply as stated in paragraph (c)(1) hereof, and where such auxiliary water supply is not subject to any of the following rules, the public water system shall be protected by an approved air-gap separation or an approved reduced pressure principle backflow prevention device.
(2) In the case of any premises where there is water or substance that would be objectionable, but not hazardous to health, if introduced into the public water system, the public system shall be protected by an approved double check valve assembly.
(3) In the case of any premises where there is any material dangerous to health which is handled in such a fashion as to create an actual or potential hazard to the public water system, this system shall be protected by an approved air-gap separation or an approved reduced pressure principle backflow prevention device. Examples of premises where these conditions will exist include sewage treatment plants, sewage pumping stations, chemical manufacturing plants, hospitals, mortuaries and plating works.
(4) In the case of any premises where there are "uncontrolled" cross connections, either actual or potential, the public water system must be protected by an approved air-gap separation or an approved reduced pressure principle backflow prevention device at the service connection.
(5) In the case of any premises where, because of security requirements or other prohibitions or restrictions, it is impossible or impractical to make a complete in-plant cross connection survey, the public water system shall be protected against backflow from the premises by the installation of a backflow prevention device in the service line. In this case, maximum protection will be required; that is, an approved air-gap separation or an approved reduced pressure principle backflow prevention device shall be installed in each service to the premises.
(e) Any backflow prevention required herein shall be of a model approved by the Water Purveyor. The term "approved backflow preventer" shall mean a device that has been manufactured in full conformance with standards established by the American Water Works Association, entitled: AWWA C506-69 Standards for Reduced Pressure Principle and Double Check Valve Backflow Prevention Devices.
Said AWWA standards have been adopted by the Official Authority Head. Final approval, however, of the "Reduced Pressure Principle Backflow Preventer" and the "Double Check Valve Assembly" issued by an approved testing laboratory certifying full compliance with the said AWWA standards prior to final approval.
(f) It shall be the duty of the customer-user, at any premises, where backflow prevention devices are installed, to have thorough inspections and operational tests made at least once a year, or more often in those instances where inspections indicate a need. These inspections and tests shall be at the expense of the water user and shall be performed by a licensed plumber specifically trained, to the satisfaction of the Water Purveyor, in the inspection and repair of backflow prevention devices. The customer-user shall notify the Water Purveyor in advance when the test is to be undertaken so that he or she or his or her representative may witness the test if it is so desired. These devices shall be repaired, overhauled or replaced at the expense of the customer-user whenever they are found to be defective. Records of such tests, repairs and overhauls shall be kept and made available to the Water Purveyor and the municipality. Copies of all test results shall be submitted to the Water Purveyor and the municipality.
(g) All presently installed backflow prevention devices which do not meet the requirements of this section, but were approved devices for the purposes described herein at the time of installation and which have been properly maintained, shall, except for the inspection and maintenance requirements under subsection (f) hereof, be excluded from the requirements of these rules so long as the Water Purveyor is assured that they will satisfactorily protect the utility system. Whenever the existing device is moved from its present location or requires more than minimum maintenance, or when the Water Purveyor finds that the maintenance of the device constitutes a hazard to health, the unit shall be replaced by a backflow prevention device meeting the requirements of this section.
(h) No consumer shall alter, bypass or render inoperative any backflow device approved and installed under these regulations.
(Ord. 4533. Passed 6-13-90.)