§ 36-81. Requirements.

(a)

Water system.

(1)

The water system shall be considered as made up of two parts: the utility system and the customer system.

(2)

The utility system shall consist of the source facilities and the distribution system, and shall include all those facilities of the water system under the control of the utility, up to the point where the customer's system begins.

(3)

The source shall include all components of the facilities utilized in the production, treatment, storage, and delivery of water to the distribution system.

(4)

The distribution system shall include the network of conduits used for the delivery of water from the source to the customer's system.

(5)

The customer's system shall include those parts of the facilities beyond the termination of the utility distribution system that are utilized in conveying utility-delivered domestic water to points of use.

(b)

Policy.

(1)

No water service connection to any premises shall be installed or maintained by the water purveyor unless the water supply is protected as required by state and local laws and regulations and this article. Service of water to any premises shall be discontinued by the water purveyor if a backflow prevention assembly required by this article 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 premises. Service will not be restored until such conditions or defects are corrected.

(2)

The customer's system should be open for inspection at all reasonable times to authorized representatives of the town and all federal, state and local water and health agencies to determine whether cross connections of other structural or sanitary hazards, including violations of these regulations, exist. When such a condition becomes known, the town manager or his designee shall deny or immediately discontinue service to the premises by providing for a physical break in the service line until the customer has corrected the conditions in conformance with federal, state and local laws and regulations relating to plumbing and water supplies and the regulations adopted pursuant thereto.

(3)

An approved backflow prevention assembly shall be installed on each service line to a customer's water system at or near the property line or immediately inside the building being served; but in all cases, before the first branch line leading off the service line wherever the following conditions exist:

a.

In the case of premises having an auxiliary water supply that is not or may not be of safe bacteriological or chemical quality and that is not acceptable as an additional source by the town manager or his designee, the public water 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.

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 internal cross connections that cannot be permanently corrected and controlled, or intricate plumbing and piping arrangements, or where entry to all portions of the premises is not readily accessible for inspection purposes, making it impracticable or impossible to ascertain whether or not dangerous cross connections exist, the public water system shall be protected against backflow from the premises by installing an approved backflow prevention assembly in the service line.

(4)

The type of protective assembly required under subsection (3) of this section 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 (3)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, but are not limited to, sewage treatment plants, sewage pumping stations, 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 town manager or his designee, an undue health threat is posed because of the presence of extremely toxic substances, the town manager or his designee may require an air gap at the service connection to protect the public water system. This requirement will be at the discretion of the town manager or his designee and is dependent on the degree of hazard.

g.

Any backflow prevention assembly required herein shall be a model and size approved by the town manager or his designee. The term "approved backflow prevention assembly" shall mean an assembly that has been manufactured in full conformance with the current standards established by the American Water Works Association titled AWWA C510 Standard for Double Check Valve Backflow-Prevention Assembly and AWWA C511Standard for Reduced-Pressure Principle Backflow-Prevention Assembly and have met completely the laboratory and field performance specifications of the Foundation for Cross Connection Control and Hydraulic Research (FCCHR) of the University of Southern California established by Specification of Backflow-Prevention Assemblies, Section 10, of the most current issue of the Manual of Cross Connection Control. For residential properties only, an in-line dual check valve is an acceptable backflow prevention device.

h.

Said American Water Works Association (AWWA) and Foundation for Cross Connection Control and Hydraulic Research (FCCHR) standards and specifications have been adopted by the town. Final approval shall be evidenced by a certificate of approval issued by an approved testing laboratory certifying full compliance with said AWWA standards and FCCHR specifications. Testing laboratories will be added to an approved list as they are qualified by the town manager or his designee. Backflow preventers that may be subjected to backpressure or backsiphonage that have been fully tested and have been granted a certificate of approval by said qualified laboratory and are listed on the laboratory's current list of approved backflow prevention assemblies may be used without further testing or qualification.

(5)

It shall be the duty of the customer-user at any premises where backflow prevention assemblies are installed to have certified inspections and operational tests made at least once per year. In those instances where the town manager or his designee 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, town personnel, or by a certified tester approved by the town manager or his designee. It shall be the duty of the town manager or his designee to see that these tests are made in a timely manner. These assemblies shall be repaired, overhauled, or replaced at the expense of the customer-user whenever said assemblies are found to be defective. Records of such tests, repairs, and overhaul shall be kept and made available to the town manager or his designee. For those residential properties where the town has installed an in-line dual check valve, the town will be responsible for the testing and replacement of the in-line dual check valve.

(6)

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 (5) of this section, be excluded from the requirements of these rules so long as the town manager or his designee is assured 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 town manager or his designee 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.

(Code 1999, § 26-56; Ord. No. 7-04, § 1, 5-18-2004; Ord. No. 02-17, § 1(Exh. A), 2-7-2017)