Backflow Prevention: Protecting the water you drink after it leaves our plant!
Backflow prevention and cross-connection control are unfamiliar terms to many of us; however, they should be of great concern. The backflow of chemicals or contaminated water into the public water system is responsible for many illnesses and deaths every year in the United States.
Case in Point
In the summer of 2001, 41 cases of cryptosporidiosis (a disease caused by a pathogen born from the digestive systems of mammals) were found in Delaware County. The investigation rapidly expanded from the local health department to the Center for Disease Control. Investigators found the source of the parasite to come from a swimming pool on the Del-Co Water system. The facility was equipped with a backflow prevention device. This helped ensure that the spread of the disease did not escalate, and affirmed our confidence on our program.
Definitions:
- Cross-connection: Any piping arrangement where backflow into the public water system might occur. While cross-connections themselves are not bad and are often necessary, uncontrolled cross-connections are dangerous.
- Backflow Prevention Device: A mechanical device or piping configuration that prevents backflow of contaminated water into a potable water system from occurring at a cross-connection.
Learn More About Backflow Prevention
Backflow Prevention
Normally, industrial facilities are thought of as being the most potentially hazardous sites for backflows to occur. However, this potential exists anywhere cross-connections exist, even in residential homes. Home irrigation systems or a garden hose dropped into a swimming pool are both cross-connections.
Del-Co Water takes backflow prevention seriously. Because of this, we established a backflow prevention program several years ago to eliminate or control cross-connections on our system. We maintain a database of known cross-connections and require that proper backflow devices be present and tested every year. We also have periodic surveys performed at these sites to look for other potential backflow hazards. Our program includes discovering other sites where cross-connections exist and bringing them under control.
Backflow regulations as they pertain to public water users and water purveyors are found in the Ohio Administrative Code Section 3745-95. Our backflow program follows these rules without modification. All new and existing customers that are determined to have cross-connection potential on their property are required to sign a Backflow Prevention Agreement. More information on this and what you may be required to do with your system can be found in our Backflow Brochure.