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Authorized representative(s) from the city shall have the right to enter, upon presentation of proper credentials and identification, any building, structure, or premises during normal business hours, or at any time during the event of an emergency, to perform any duty imposed by this subchapter. Those duties may include sampling and testing of water, or inspections and observations of all piping systems connected to the public water supply. Where a user has security measures in force that would require proper identification and clearance before entry into their premises, the user shall make necessary arrangements with the security guards so that upon presentation of suitable identification, city personnel will be permitted to enter, without delay, for the purposes of performing their specific responsibilities. Refusal to allow entry for these purposes may result in discontinuance of water service. On request, the consumer shall furnish to the city any pertinent information regarding the water supply system on such property where cross-connections and backflow are deemed possible.
(Ord. O-10-24, passed 8-1-2024)
When cross-connections are found to exist, the owner, his or her agent, occupant, or tenant will be notified in writing to disconnect the same within the time limit established by the city. Degree of protection required and maximum time allowed for compliance will be based upon the potential degree of hazard to the public water supply system. The maximum time limits are as follows:
(A) Cross-connections with private wells or other auxiliary water supplies shall be immediately disconnected.
(B) All facilities which pose a health hazard to the potable water system must have a containment assembly in the form of a reduced pressure principle backflow prevention assembly within 60 days.
(C) All industrial and commercial facilities not identified as a “health hazard” shall be considered non-health hazard facilities. All non-health hazard facilities must install, as a minimum containment assembly, a double check valve assembly within 90 days.
(D) If, in the judgment of the city, an imminent health hazard exists, water service to the building or premises where a cross-connection exists may be terminated unless an air gap is immediately provided, or the cross-connection is immediately eliminated.
(E) (1) Based upon recommendation from the city, the consumer is responsible for installing sufficient internal isolation backflow prevention assemblies and/or methods (i.e., air gap, pressure vacuum breakers, reduced pressure principle backflow prevention assembly, double check valve assembly).
(2) Disclaimer: The city may make recommendations, upon facility inspection, as to the usages of isolation devices/assemblies, but does not assume or have responsibility whatsoever for such installations.
(F) In the event that the City Water Resources Director or designee does not have sufficient access to every portion of a private water system (i.e., classified research and development facilities; federal government property, and the like) to allow a complete evaluation of the degree of hazard associated with such private water systems, an approved reduced pressure principle assembly shall be required as a minimum of protection.
(G) No person shall fill special use tanks or tankers containing pesticides, fertilizers, other toxic chemicals or their residues from the public water system except at a location equipped with an air gap or an approved reduced pressure principle backflow prevention assembly properly installed on the public water supply.
(Ord. O-10-24, passed 8-1-2024)
(A) All backflow prevention assemblies shall be installed in accordance with the specifications furnished by the city and/or the manufacturer’s installation instructions and/or in the latest edition of the North Carolina Building Code, whichever is most restrictive.
(B) All new construction plans and specifications, when required by the North Carolina Building Code and the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality, shall be made available to the city for review and approval, and to determine the degree of hazard.
(C) Ownership, testing, and maintenance of the assembly shall be the responsibility of the customer.
(D) All double check valve assemblies must be installed in drainable pits wherever below ground installation is necessary.
(E) Reduced pressure principle assemblies must be installed in a horizontal position and in a location in which no portion of the assembly can become submerged in any substance under any circumstances (pit and/or below grade installations are prohibited). Double check valve assemblies may be installed in a vertical position with prior approval from the city, provided the flow of water is in an upward direction.
(F) Any installed unapproved backflow prevention assembly must be replaced with an approved backflow prevention assembly.
(G) The installer is responsible to make sure a backflow prevention assembly is working properly upon installation and is required to furnish the following information to the city within 15 days after a reduced pressure principle backflow preventer (RP), double check-detector assembly (DCDA), pressure vacuum breaker (PVB), or reduced pressure principle detector assembly (RPDA) is installed:
(1) Service address where assembly is located;
(2) Owner (and address, if different from service address);
(3) Description of assembly’s location;
(4) Date of installation;
(5) Installer (include name, certification number, and project permit number);
(6) Type of assembly, size of assembly;
(7) Manufacturer, model number, serial number; and
(8) Test results/reports.
(H) When it is not possible to interrupt water service, provisions shall be made for a parallel installation of backflow prevention assemblies. The city will not accept an unprotected bypass around a backflow preventer when the assembly is in need of testing, repair, or replacement.
(I) The consumer shall, upon notification, install the appropriate containment assembly not to exceed the following time frame:
(1) Health hazard - 60 days.
(2) Non-health hazard - 90 days.
(J) Following installation, all RP, DCVA, PVB, DCDA, and RPDA assemblies are required to be tested by a certified backflow prevention assembly tester within ten days.
(Ord. O-10-24, passed 8-1-2024)
(A) Testing of backflow prevention assemblies shall be made by a certified backflow prevention assembly tester. Such tests are to be conducted upon installation and annually thereafter, or at a frequency established by the city. A record of all testing and repairs is to be retained by the customer. Copies of the records must be provided to the city within ten business days after the completion of any testing and/or repair work.
(B) Any time that repairs to backflow prevention assemblies are deemed necessary, whether through annual or required testing or routine inspection by the owner or by the city, these repairs must be completed within a specified time in accordance with the degree of hazard. In no case shall this time period exceed:
(1) Health hazard facilities - 14 days.
(2) Non-health hazard facilities - 21 days.
(C) All backflow prevention assemblies with test cocks are required to be tested annually or at frequency established by city’s regulations. Testing requires a water shutdown, usually lasting five to 20 minutes. For facilities that require an uninterrupted supply of water, and when it is not possible to provide water service from two separate meters, provisions shall be made for a parallel installation of backflow prevention assemblies.
(D) All certified backflow prevention assembly testers must obtain and employ backflow prevention assembly test equipment which has been evaluated and/or approved by the city. All test equipment shall be registered with the city. All test equipment shall be checked for accuracy annually (at a minimum), calibrated if necessary, and certified to the city as to such accuracy/calibration, employing a calibration method acceptable to the city.
(E) It shall be unlawful for any customer or certified tester to submit any record to the city which is false or incomplete in any material respect. It shall be unlawful for any customer or certified tester to fail to submit to the city any record which is required by this subchapter.
(Ord. O-10-24, passed 8-1-2024)
(A) Approved backflow prevention assemblies shall be installed on the service line to any premises that the city has identified as having a potential for backflow.
(B) The following types of facilities or services have been identified by the city as having a potential for backflow of non-potable water into the public water supply system. Therefore, an approved backflow prevention assembly will be required on all such services according to the degree of hazard present. Other types of facilities or services not listed below may also be required to install approved backflow prevention assemblies if determined necessary by the city. As a minimum requirement, all commercial services will be required to install a double check valve assembly, unless otherwise listed below.
DCVA = Double check valve assembly RPF = Reduced pressure principle assembly DCDA = Double check detector assembly RPDA = Reduced pressure detector assembly AG = Air gap PVB = Pressure vacuum breaker | |
Aircraft and missile plants | RP |
Automotive service stations, dealerships, and the like: No health hazard Health hazard | DCVA RP |
Automotive plants | RP |
Auxiliary water systems: Approved public/private water supply Unapproved public/private water supply Used water and industrial fluids | DCVA AG RP |
Bakeries: No health hazard Health hazard | DCVA RP |
Beauty shops/barber shops: No health hazard Health hazard | DCVA RP |
Beverage bottling plants | RP |
Breweries | RP |
Buildings - Hotels, apartment houses, public and private buildings, or other structures having unprotected cross-connections: (Under five stories) No health hazard Health hazard (Over five stories) All | DCVA RP RP |
Canneries, packing houses, and rendering plants | RP |
Chemical plants - manufacturing, processing, compounding or treatment | RP |
Chemically contaminated water systems | RP |
Commercial car-wash facilities | RP |
Commercial greenhouses | RI |
Commercial sales establishments (department stores, malls, and the like): No health hazard Health hazard | DCVA RP |
Concrete/asphalt plants | RP |
Dairies and cold storage plants | RI |
Dye works | RI |
Film laboratories | RI |
Fire systems: Systems 3/4-inch to 2-inch: No health hazard Health hazard (booster pumps, foam, antifreeze solution, and the like) Systems 2-1/2 inch to 10-inch, or larger: No health hazard Health hazard (booster pumps, foam, antifreeze solution, and the like) | DCDA RPDA DCDA RPDA |
Hospitals, medical buildings, sanitariums, morgues, mortuaries, autopsy facilities, nursing and convalescent homes, medical clinics, and veterinary hospitals | RP |
Industrial facilities: No health hazard Health hazard | DCVA RP |
Laundries: No health hazard Health hazard (i.e., dry cleaners) | DCVA RP |
Lawn irrigation systems (split taps): No health hazard Health hazard (booster pumps, chemical systems) | DCVA RP |
Metal manufacturing, cleaning, processing, and fabricating plants | RP |
Mobile home parks: No health hazard Health hazard | DCVA RI |
Oil and gas production, storage or transmission properties | RP |
Paper and paper products plants | RP |
Pest control (exterminating and fumigation) | RP |
Plating plant | RP |
Power plants | RP |
Radioactive materials or substances, plants or facilities handling | RP |
Restaurants: No health hazard Health hazard | DCDA RP |
Restricted, classified, or other closed facilities | RP |
Rubber plants (natural or synthetic) | RP |
Sand and gravel plants | RP |
Schools and colleges | RP |
Sewage and storm drain facilities | RP |
Swimming pools | RP |
Waterfront facilities and industries | RP |
All assemblies and installations shall be subject to inspection and approval by the city. | |
(Ord. O-10-24, passed 8-1-2024)
(A) No person shall connect or cause to be connected any supply of water not approved by the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality to the water system supplied by the city. Any such connections allowed by the city must be in conformance with the backflow prevention requirements of this subchapter.
(B) In the event of contamination or pollution of a public or consumer potable water system, the consumer shall notify the city immediately in order that appropriate measures may be taken to overcome and eliminate the contamination or pollution.
(Ord. O-10-24, passed 8-1-2024)
(A) All connections for fire protection systems connected with the public water system, two inches and smaller, shall be protected with an approved double check valve assembly as a minimum requirement. All fire systems using toxic additives or booster pumps shall be protected by an approved reduced pressure principle assembly at the main service connection.
(B) All connections for fire protection systems connected with the public water system greater than two inches, shall be protected with an approved double check detector assembly as a minimum requirement. All fire protection systems using toxic or hazardous additives or booster pumps shall be protected by an approved reduced pressure principle detector assembly at the main service connection.
(C) All existing backflow prevention assemblies two and one-half inches and larger installed on fire protection systems (that were initially approved by the city and/or Lincoln County, as applicable) shall be allowed to remain on the premises, as long as they are being properly maintained, tested and repaired as required by this subchapter. If, however, the existing assembly must be replaced (once it can no longer be repaired), or in the event of proven water theft through an unmetered source, the consumer shall be required to install an approved double check detector assembly or reduced pressure principle detector assembly as required by this provision.
(Ord. O-10-24, passed 8-1-2024)
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