Backflow prevention is an extremely important aspect of keeping pollution and contamination out of the water that we use in our homes and businesses.
These backflow prevention devices can be tested to make sure they are working correctly through the use of test cocks, and the Environmental Protection Agency makes sure that our municipal water sources are responsible for keeping our water systems supply us with clean, potable water for drinking, cooking and bathing. A yearly testing of your backflow prevention devices, like check valves, may be required if you are a restaurant, gas station or other business owner.
Did you know that there are more than ten thousand backflow contamination cases reported to authorities every year, and some of them can end up being fatal for people? You can see why backflow prevention is such an important factor for potable water usage, and why the backflow devices must be installed exactly as local and state law requires. You need to make sure that your backflow preventers are tested every year, and if you install any new backflow prevention or move existing ones, these need to be tested to make sure they are working properly, too.
How Backflow Contamination Occurs In Drains And Pipes
So, do you know exactly what backflow is and how it can affect the potable water supply of your home or business? Backflow occurs when water or other liquids flow back into your drains through a connection to the public water system. This flow reversal can force unhealthy and even dangerous wastewater or other dirty substances back into your pipes and cause sickness and unclean conditions. Back-siphonage and backpressure are the two different kinds of backflow problems that we usually see.
When pressure coming from downstream is greater than the pressure coming from upstream in your water system, backpressure backflow can occur in your drains and pipes. This can end up happening if your water supply pressure drops, or if the pressure coming from downsteam increases. This increase in downstream pressure can be brought about by your boiler heating up or problems with pumps. Additionally, a lowering of pressure downstream can be caused by things like breaks or leaks in water lines, or even the flushing of your water lines.
When learning about backflow testing and prevention, you might also run across the term “airgap.” An airgap is a gap separating the end of your water supply outlet and the flood level rim of the vessel that receives the water supply. This separation needs to be a certain diameter in order to act as protection to guard agains back siphonage and backpressure backflow.
Proper Backflow Testing Is Your Responsibility
It’s important to remember that if you have backflow problems in your restaurant or business, that it can end up contaminating all the water in your system and endangering your employees and customers. As a business owner or manager, it’s your responsibility to makde sure that your water supply is clean and safe, and you can face strict penalties by federal, state and local governments if your backflow prevention devices are not tested by licensed professionals on a regularly scheduled basis.
Even restaurant equipment like soft drink dispensers can have potential backflow hazzards for customers, wince they use carbonated water that can dissolve copper piping. If this dissolved copper piping makes it back through the soda dispenser, it can make your customer sick. Proper backflow testing should completely solve this problem, however.
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