For the purpose of this chapter, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
APPROVED. A water supply that has been approved by the town’s Water Department. The term APPROVED, as herein used in reference to an air gap, a reduced pressure principle backflow prevention assembly or other backflow prevention assemblies or methods, shall mean APPROVED by the town.
AUXILIARY WATER SUPPLY. Any water supply on or available to the premises other than the town-approved public water supply will be considered as an AUXILIARY WATER SUPPLY. These AUXILIARY WATERS may include water from another purveyor’s public potable water supply or any natural source(s) such as a well, spring, river, stream, harbor and the like or used waters or industrial fluids. These waters may be contaminated or polluted or they may be objectionable and constitute an unacceptable water source over which the Water Department does not have sanitary control.
BACKFLOW. The undesirable reversal of flow of water or mixtures of water and other liquids, gases or other substances into the distribution pipes of the potable supply of water from any source or sources. See terms BACKSIPHONAGE and BACKPRESSURE.
BACKPRESSURE. Any elevation of pressure in the downstream piping system (by pump, elevation of piping or stream and/or air pressure) above the supply pressure at the point of consideration, which would cause, or tend to cause, a reversal of the normal direction of flow.
BACKSIPHONAGE. A form of backflow due to a reduction in system pressure, which causes a sub-atmospheric pressure to exist at a site in the water system.
BACKFLOW PREVENTION ASSEMBLY. An assembly or means designed to prevent backflow and includes the following.
(1) AIR-GAP. A physical separation between the free flowing discharge end of a potable water supply pipeline and an open or non-pressure receiving vessel. An APPROVED AIR GAP shall be at least double the diameter of the supply pipe measured vertically above the overflow rim of the vessel, in no case less than one inch (2.54 cm).
(2) REDUCED PRESSURE PRINCIPLE BACKFLOW PREVENTION ASSEMBLY. An assembly containing two independently acting approved check valves together with a hydraulically- operating, mechanically-independent pressure differential relief valve located between the check valves and at the same time below the first check valve. The unit shall include properly located resilient seated test cock and tightly closing resilient seated shutoff valves at each end of the assembly. This assembly is designed to protect against a non-health (i.e., pollutant) or a health hazard (i.e., contaminant). This assembly shall not be used for backflow prevention of sewage or reclaimed water.
CONTAMINATION. An impairment of the quality of water, which creates an actual hazard to the public health through poisoning or through the spread of disease by sewage, industrial fluids, waste and the like.
CROSS-CONNECTION. Any unprotected actual or potential connection or structural arrangement between the public and a consumer’s potable water system and any other source or system through which it is possible to introduce into any part of the potable system any used water, industrial fluid, gas or substance other than the intended potable water with which the system is supplied. Bypass arrangements, jumper connections, removable sections, swivel or changeover devices and other temporary or permanent devices through which or because of which backflow can or may occur are considered to be CROSS-CONNECTIONS.
(1) The term DIRECT CROSS-CONNECTION shall mean a cross connection which is subject to both backsiphonage and backpressure.
(2) The term INDIRECT CROSS-CONNECTION shall mean a cross-connection which is subject to backsiphonage only.
CROSS CONNECTIONS, CONTROLLED. A connection between a potable water system and a non-potable water system with an approved backflow prevention assembly properly installed and maintained so that it will continuously afford the protection commensurate with the degree of hazard.
HAZARD, DEGREE OF. A pollutional (non-health) or contamination (health) hazard and is derived from the evaluation of conditions within a system.
HAZARD, HEALTH. An actual or potential threat of contamination of a physical or toxic nature to the public potable water system or the consumer’s potable water system that would be a danger to health.
HAZARD, PLUMBING. An internal or plumbing type cross-contamination in a consumer’s potable water system that may either be a pollutional or contamination type hazard. This includes, but is not limited to, cross-connections to toilets, sinks, lavatories, wash trays and lawn sprinkling systems. Plumbing-type cross-connections can be located in many types of structures including homes, apartment houses, hotels and commercial or industrial establishments. Such a connection, if permitted to exist, must be properly protected by an appropriate type of backflow prevention assembly from a pollutional or a contamination type hazard.
HAZARD, POLLUTIONAL. An actual or potential threat to the physical properties of the water system or the potability of the public potable water system but that would not constitute a health or system hazard, as defined. The maximum degree or intensity of pollution to which the potable water system could be degraded under this definition would cause a nuisance or be aesthetically objectionable or could cause minor damage to the system or its appurtenances.
HAZARD, SYSTEM. An actual or potential threat of sever danger to the physical properties of the public potable water system or of a pollutional or contamination hazard that would have a protracted effect on the quality of the potable water in the system.
INDUSTRIAL FLUIDS. Any fluid or solution which may be chemically, biologically or otherwise contaminated or polluted in a form or concentration which would constitute a health, system, pollutional or plumbing hazard if introduced into an approved water supply. This may include, but not be limited to: polluted or contaminated used water; all types of process waters and used water originating from the public potable water system which may deteriorate in sanitary quality; chemicals in fluid form, planting acids and alkalies; circulated cooling waters connected to an opening cooling tower and/or cooling waters that are chemically or biologically treated and stabilized with toxic substances; contaminated by natural waters such as from wells, springs, streams, rivers, bays, harbors, seas, irrigation canals or systems and the like; oils, gases, glycerin, paraffin, caustic and acid solutions and other liquid and gaseous fluids used industrially, for other processes or for firefighting purposes.
POLLUTION. An impairment of the quality of the water to a degree which does not create a hazard to the public health, but which does adversely and unreasonably affect the aesthetic qualities of such waters for domestic use.
SERVICE PROTECTION. The appropriate type or method of backflow protection at the service connection, commensurate with the degree of hazard of the consumer’s potable water system.
WATER DEPARTMENT. The Town of Quartzsite (“Water Department”) 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.
WATER, POTABLE. Any public water supply, that has been investigated and approved by the state’s Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ). The system must be operating under a valid health permit. In determining what constitutes an approved water supply, ADEQ has final judgment as to its potability.
WATER, NON-POTABLE. A water supply that has not been approved for human consumption by ADEQ.
WATER, SERVICE CONNECTION. The terminal end of a service connection from the public potable water system, (i.e., where the Water Department may lose jurisdiction and sanitary control of the water at its point of delivery to the consumer’s water system). If a water meter is installed at the end of the service connection, then the SERVICE CONNECTION shall mean the downstream end of the water meter.
WATER, USED. Any water supplied by the Water Department, from a public potable water system to a consumer’s water system, after it has passed through the service connection and is no longer under the control of the Water Department.
(Prior Code, § 17-1-9) (Ord. 00-11, passed - -2000; Ord. 01-15, passed - -2001; Ord. 09-39, passed - -2009)