(A) General. No water service connection shall be made to any establishment where a potential or actual contamination hazard exists unless the water supply is protected in accordance with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) Rules and Regulations for the public water systems and this section. The water purveyor shall discontinue water service if a required backflow prevention assembly is not installed, maintained and tested in accordance with the TCEQ Rules and this section.
(B) Backflow prevention assembly installation, testing, maintenance and fees.
(1) All backflow prevention assemblies shall be tested upon installation by a recognized backflow prevention assembly tester and certified to be operating within specifications. Backflow prevention assemblies which are installed to provide protections against health hazards must also be tested and certified to be operating within specifications at least annually for commercial and residential settings and biannually for irrigation assemblies in a residential setting. Testing and certification can be required more often for a hazard or a potential hazard is discovered by the water purveyor.
(2) All backflow prevention assemblies shall be installed and tested in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions, and the University of Southern California Manual of Cross-Connection Control, 10th edition, and the city installation guidelines. A fee of $10 will be assessed and charged for each device. This fee will appear on the utility bill yearly for the month of March.
(3) Assemblies shall be repaired, overhauled, or replaced at the expense of the customer whenever said assemblies are found to be defective. Original forms of such test, repair, or overhaul shall be kept and submitted to the city within five working days of the test, repair or overhaul of each backflow prevention assembly.
(4) No backflow prevention assembly or device shall be removed from use, relocated, or other assembly or device substituted without the approval of the city. Whenever the existing assembly or device is moved from the present location or cannot be repaired, the backflow assembly or device shall be replaced with a backflow prevention assembly or device that complies with this section, University of Southern California Manual of Cross-Connection Control, 10th edition, the city Backflow and Cross- Connection Manual, or the International Plumbing Code, 2012 edition, whichever is more stringent.
(5) Test gauges used for backflow prevention assembly testing shall be tested at least annually in accordance with the University of Southern California Manual of Cross-Contamination Control, 10th edition. The original test form must be submitted to the citywithin five working days after testing.
(6) A recognized backflow prevention assembly tester must hold a current endorsement from the TCEQ and that endorsement must be on file with the city.
(C) Customer service inspections.
(1) A customer service inspection shall be completed prior to providing continuous water service to all new construction, on any existing service when the water purveyor has reason to believe that cross-connections or other contaminant hazards exist, or after any material improvement, correction, or addition to the private water distribution facilities.
(2) Only individuals with the following credentials shall be recognized as capable of conducting a customer service inspection:
(a) Plumbing inspectors and water supply protection specialists that have been licensed by the Texas Board of Plumbing Examiners.
(b) Customer service inspector that has been certified by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ).
(3) The customer service inspection must certify that:
(a) No direct connection between the public drinking water supply and a potential source of contamination permitted. Potential sources of contamination shall be isolated from the public water system by properly installed air gap or an appropriate backflow prevention assembly.
(b) No cross-connection between the public drinking water supply and a private water source exists. Where an actual properly installed air gap is not maintained between the public water supply and a private water supply, an approved reduced pressure backflow prevention assembly is properly installed and a service agreement exists for annual inspection and testing by a recognized backflow prevention assembly tester.
(c) No connection exists which allows water to be returned to the public drinking water supply is permitted.
(d) No pipe or pipe fitting which contains more than 8% lead may be used for the installation or repair of plumbing at any connection that provides water for human use.
(e) No solder or flux which contains more than 0.2% lead can be used for the installation or repair of plumbing at any connection that provides water for human use. A minimum of one lead test shall be performed for each inspection.
(D) Manual. A backflow prevention and cross-connection program manual is hereby established and adopted by reference, as presented in Attachment A of Ord. 14-1112, which is on file in the office of the City Clerk. The manual shall be known as the Pleasanton Water System Backflow Prevention and Cross-Connection Control Manual.
(Ord. 12-1062, passed 9-20-2012; Ord. 14-1112, passed 7-17-2014; Ord. 20-1250, passed 8-6-2020) Penalty, see § 50.99