A. Protection Required:
1. No water service connection to any premises shall be installed or maintained by the public water purveyor unless the water supply is protected as required by state laws, regulations, codes and this chapter. Service of water to a consumer found to be in violation of this chapter shall be discontinued by the water department after due process of written notification of violation and an appropriate time suspended for voluntary compliance, if:
a. A backflow prevention assembly required by this chapter for control of backflow and cross connections is not installed, tested and maintained;
b. It is found that a backflow prevention assembly has been removed or bypassed;
c. An unprotected cross connection exists on the premises; or
d. The periodic system survey has not been conducted.
2. Service shall not be restored until such conditions or defects are corrected.
B. Inspections: The customer's system shall be open for inspection at all reasonable times to authorized representatives of the water purveyor to determine whether cross connections or other structural or sanitary hazards, including violation of this chapter, exist and for audit of the results of the required survey (subsection 8-4-3A2 of this chapter).
C. Existence Of Hazard: Whenever the public water purveyor deems a service connection's water usage contributes a sufficient hazard to the water supply, an approved backflow prevention assembly shall be installed at the consumer's expense on the service line of the identified consumer'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.
D. Type Of Assembly Required: The type of protective assembly required under subsection C of this section shall depend upon the degree of hazard which exists at the point of cross connection (whether direct or indirect) applicable to local and state requirements or resulting from the required survey.
E. Presently Installed Systems: Any presently installed backflow prevention assembly which does not meet the requirements of this section but was approved for the purposes described herein at the time of installation and which has been properly maintained, shall, except for the inspection and maintenance requirements under subsection F of this section, be excluded from the requirements of these rules so long as the water purveyor is assured that they will satisfactorily protect the public water system. Whenever the existing assembly is moved from the present location or requires more than minimum maintenance, or when the water purveyor finds that the operation or maintenance of this assembly constitutes a hazard to health, the unit shall be replaced by an approved backflow prevention assembly meeting the local and state requirements.
F. Yearly Tests And Inspections: It shall be the responsibility of the consumer at any premises where backflow prevention assemblies are installed to have certified surveys/inspections and operational tests made at least once per year at the consumer's expense for those assemblies required to be tested under the state public drinking water regulations. In those instances where the public water purveyor deems the hazard to be great, he may require certified surveys/inspections and tests at a more frequent interval. It shall be the duty of the public water purveyor to see that these tests are made according to the standards set forth by the department of environmental quality, division of drinking water.
G. Testing Upon Initial Installation: Any backflow prevention assembly shall be tested within ten (10) working days of initial installation.
H. Installations Creating Safety Hazard: No backflow prevention assembly shall be installed so as to create a safety hazard. Example: Installed over an electrical panel, steam pipes, boilers, pits or above ceiling level. (Ord. 91-1, 1-15-1991; amd. 2012 Code)