(A) Hydrant use. It shall be unlawful for anyone except City personnel to operate any City fire hydrant without a hydrant use permit.
(B) Cross-connection control.
(1) Purpose. The purpose of this subsection is to:
(a) protect the public potable water supply of the City from the possibility of contamination or pollution by isolating within the consumer’s internal distribution system(s) or the consumer’s private water system(s) such contaminants or pollutants that could backflow into the public water system; and,
(b) promote the elimination or control of existing cross connections, actual or potential, between the consumer’s in-plant potable water system(s) and nonpotable water systems, plumbing fixtures, and industrial piping systems; and,
(c) provide for the maintenance of a continuing program of cross-connection control that will systematically and effectively prevent the contamination or pollution of all potable water systems.
(2) Responsibilities. The City desires to protect the public potable water distribution system from contamination or pollution due to the backflow of contaminants or pollutants through the water service connection. If, in the judgment of the Director, an approved backflow-prevention assembly is required (at the consumer’s water service connection or within the consumer’s private water system) for the safety of the water system, the Director or the Director’s designated agent shall give notice in writing to consumer to install such an approved backflow-prevention assembly(s) at specific location(s) on the consumer’s premises. The consumer shall immediately install such approved assembly(s) at their own expense. The failure, refusal, or inability on the part of the consumer to install, have tested, and maintain said assembly(s) shall constitute grounds for discontinuing water service to the premises until such requirements have been satisfactorily met.
(3) Water supply protection. No water service connection to any premises shall be installed unless the water supply is protected as required by state laws and regulations and this Chapter. Service of water to any subject property shall be discontinued by the City if a backflow prevention assembly required by this chapter is not installed, tested, and maintained, or if it is found that a backflow-prevention assembly has been removed, bypassed, or if an unprotected cross connection exists on the subject property. Service will not be restored until such conditions or defects are corrected.
(4) Right to inspect. The consumer’s system shall be open for inspection at all reasonable times to authorized representatives of the City to determine whether cross connections or other structural or sanitary hazards, including violations of these regulations, exist. When it becomes known that such a condition exists, the City shall deny or immediately discontinue service to the premises by providing for a physical break in the service line until the consumer has corrected the condition(s) in conformance with the Chapter relating to plumbing and water supplies and the regulations adopted pursuant thereto.
(5) When a Backflow Prevention Assembly is Required. Wherever the following conditions exist, an approved backflow-prevention assembly shall be installed on each service line to a consumer's water system at or near the property line or immediately inside the structure being served; but, in all cases, before the first branch line leading off the service line:
(a) In the case of subject property having an auxiliary water supply that is not or may not be of safe bacteriological or chemical quality and that is not accepted as an additional source by the City, the public water system shall be protected against backflow from the subject property by installing an approved backflow-prevention assembly in the service line appropriate to the degree of hazard.
(b) In the case of premises on which any industrial fluids or any other objectionable substances are handled in such a fashion as to create an actual or potential hazard to the public water system, the public system shall be protected against backflow from the premises by installing an approved backflow-prevention assembly in the service line appropriate to the degree of hazard. This shall include the handling of process waters and waters originating from the utility system that have been subject to deterioration in quality.
(c) In the case of premises having (1) internal cross connections that cannot be permanently corrected and controlled, or (2) intricate plumbing and piping arrangements or where entry to all portions of the premises is not readily accessible for inspection purposes, rendering it impracticable or impossible to ascertain whether or not dangerous cross connections exist, the public water system shall be protected against backflow from the subject property by installing an approved backflow-prevention assembly in the service line.
(6) Type of Assembly Required. The type of protective assembly required under subsections 5(a), 5(b), and 5(c) shall depend upon the degree of hazard that exists as follows:
(a) In the case of any premises where there is an auxiliary water supply as stated in subsection 5(a) of this section and it is not subject to any of the following rules, the public water system shall be protected by an approved air-gap separation or an approved reduced-pressure principle backflow-prevention assembly.
(b) In the case of any premises where there is water or substance that would be objectionable but not hazardous to health if introduced into the public water system, the public water system shall be protected by an approved double check valve assembly.
(c) In the case of any premises where there is any material dangerous to health that is handled in such a fashion as to create an actual or potential hazard to the public water system, the public water system shall be protected by an approved air-gap separation or an approved reduced-pressure principle backflow prevention assembly. Examples of premises where these conditions will exist include sewage treatment plants, sewage pumping stations, docks, seafood processing plants, slaughter houses, chemical manufacturing plants, hospitals, mortuaries, and plating plants.
(d) In the case of any premises where there are "uncontrolled" cross connections, either actual or potential, the public water system shall be protected by an approved air gap separation or an approved reduced-pressure principle backflow prevention assembly at the service connection.
(e) In the case of any premises where, because of security requirements or other prohibitions or restrictions, it is impossible or impractical to make a complete in-plant cross-connection survey, the public water system shall be protected against backflow from the premises by either an approved air-gap separation or an approved reduced-pressure principle backflow-prevention assembly on each service to the premises.
(f) In the case of any premises where, in the opinion of the Director, an undue health threat is posed because of the presence of extremely toxic substances, the Director may require an air gap at the service connection to protect the public water system. This requirement will be at the discretion of the Director and is dependent on the degree of hazard.
(7) Approved Backflow Prevention Assembly. Any backflow-prevention assembly required herein shall be a model and size approved by the City. The term approved backflow prevention assembly shall mean an assembly that has been manufactured in full conformance with the current standards established by the Foundation for Cross-Connection Control and Hydraulic Research (FCCCHR) of the University of Southern California.
Final approval shall be evidenced by a "Certificate of Approval" issued by an approved testing laboratory certifying full compliance with current AWWA standards and FCCCHR specifications.
Backflow preventers that have been fully tested and have been granted a certificate of approval by an approved laboratory may be used without further testing or qualifications.
(8) Duty of consumer. It shall be the duty of the consumer at any premises where backflow-prevention assemblies are installed to have certified inspections and operational tests made at least once per calendar year. In those instances where the Director deems the hazard to be great enough, certified inspections may be required at more frequent intervals. These inspections and tests shall be at the expense of the water user and shall be performed by the assembly manufacturer's representative, Water Department personnel, or by a certified tester approved by the Director. It shall be the duty of the Director to see that these tests are made in a timely manner. The consumer shall notify the Director in advance when the tests are to be undertaken so that the City may witness the tests if so desired. These assemblies shall be repaired, overhauled, or replaced at the expense of the consumer whenever said assemblies are found to be defective. Records of such tests, repairs, and overhaul shall be kept and made available to the Director.
(9) Exclusions. All presently installed backflow prevention assemblies that do not meet the requirements of this section but were approved assemblies for the purpose described herein at the time of installation and that have been properly maintained, shall, except for the inspection and maintenance requirements under subsection 8, be excluded from the requirements of these rules so long as the City reasonably believes that they will satisfactorily protect the utility system. Whenever the existing assembly is moved from the present location, requires more than minimum maintenance, or when the City finds that the maintenance constitutes a hazard to health, the unit shall be replaced by an approved backflow-prevention assembly meeting the requirements of this section.
(C) Interconnections. Interconnections between two or more public water supplies are prohibited except upon written approval of the City.
(D) Inspections. In order to assure compliance with City health and safety standards, all applications for building permits shall be reviewed by the Director to ensure that all plumbing is installed in a manner as to prevent the possibility of pollution of the City's water supply. Upon giving proper notice, and in compliance with applicable state and federal law, the Director may inspect any building or premise in the City to ensure that all plumbing has been installed so as to prevent the possibility of pollution of the City's water supply. City water service shall be immediately disconnected from any structure or subject property whose plumbing system has been installed in a manner that the Director reasonably believes could cause pollution to the City's water supply, pursuant to § 10.04.050(C)(2). The service shall remain disconnected until the plumbing problem has been corrected.
(Ord. No. 2001-05, passed 5-8-01; Am. Ord. 2005-18, passed 10-5-05) Penalty, see § 10.04.080