a. 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 Rules and Regulations for Public Water Systems and this ordinance. The City of Tyler Director and Public Works shall discontinue water service if a required backflow prevention assembly is not installed, maintained and tested in accordance with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality Rules and this ordinance.
b. Definitions
1. Air gap -- The unobstructed vertical distance through the free atmosphere between the lowest opening from any pipe or faucet conveying water to a tank, fixture, receptor, sink, or other assembly and the flood level rim of the receptacle.
2. Backflow prevention assembly -- A device that is designed to prevent a physical connection between the public drinking water supply and a potential source of contamination.
3. Connection -- A single family residential unit or each commercial or industrial establishment to which drinking water is supplied from the system.
4. Contamination--The presence of any foreign substance (organic, inorganic, radiological or biological) in water which tends to degrade its quality so as to constitute a health hazard or impair the usefulness of the water.
5. Cross-connection--A physical connection between a public water system and either another supply of unknown or questionable quality, any source which may contain contaminating or polluting substances, or any source of water treated to a lesser degree in the treatment process.
6. Health hazard--A cross-connection, potential contamination hazard, or other situation involving any substance that can cause death, illness, spread of disease, or has a high probability of causing such effects if introduced into the potable drinking water supply.
c. Backflow Prevention Assembly Installation, Testing and Maintenance
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 protection against high health hazards must also be tested and certified to be operating within specifications at least annually by a recognized backflow prevention assembly tester.
2. All backflow prevention assemblies shall be installed and tested in accordance with the manufacture's instruction, the American Water Works Association's Recommended Practice for Backflow Prevention and Cross-connection Control (Manual M14) or the University of Southern California Manual of Cross-connection Control.
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 tests, repairs and overhauls shall be kept and submitted to Tyler Water Utilities within five (5) 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 Director or his designee. Whenever the existing assembly or device is moved from the present location or can not be repaired, the backflow assembly or device shall be replaced with a backflow assembly or device that complies with this section, the American Water Works Association's Recommended Practice for Backflow Prevention and Cross-connection Control, current edition, or the University of Southern California's Manual of Cross-Connection Control, current edition or the current Plumbing Code of the city of Tyler, Texas, whichever is more stringent.
5. Test gauges used for the backflow prevention assembly testing shall be calibrated at least annually in accordance with the American Water Works Association's Recommended Practice for Backflow Prevention and Cross-Connection Control (Manual M14), current edition, or the University of Southern California's Manual of Cross-Connection Control, current edition. Copies of the latest calibration reports, verifying the last date of equipment calibration, shall be submitted with each assembly device test report to Tyler Water Utilities.
6. A recognized backflow prevention assembly tester must hold a current endorsement from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.
d. Customer Service Inspections
1. A customer service inspection shall be completed prior to providing continuous water service to all new construction or on any existing service when:
(a) the Director or his representative has reason to believe that cross-connections or other contamination hazard exist, or
(b) 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 State Board of Plumbing Examiners.
(b) Certified Waterworks Operators and members of other water related professional groups who have completed a training course, passed an examination administered by the commission or its designated agent and hold a current endorsement issued by the Commission.
3. The customer service inspection must certify that:
(a) No direct connection between the public drinking water supply and a potential source of contamination is permitted. Potential sources of contamination shall be isolated from the public water system by a properly installed air gap or an appropriate backflow prevention assembly.
(b) No cross-connection between the public water system and a private water system exists. Where an actual properly installed air gap is not maintained between the public water supply and a private water supply, approved reduced pressure-zone backflow prevention 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 consumption.
(e) No solder or flux which contains more than 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 (1) lead test shall be performed for each inspection. (Ordinance 0-2006-100, 12/13/06) (Ord. No. 2009-7, 2/11/09)