Considerable resources to protect the water from contamination through backsiphonage or backpressure have been expended.
Once water passes through the meter and into the customers system, we lose sanitary control and by law cannot let it return to the distribution system.
Contamination can occur if a water line is connected to equipment containing a non-potable substance.
Such as a water line connected to a tank containing acid or a hose may drop into a bucket of cleaning solution. These conditions, known as Cross-Connections, are defined as any unprotected actual or potential connection between a potable water system and any other source through which it is possible to introduce any substance other than the intended potable water with which the system is supplied. These are dangerous conditions if no protective measures are taken.
The proven method to meet our goals of keeping our water supply safe is to have installed mechanical protection in the water line. There are testable assemblies and non-testable devices. Which one you may have depends on the level of hazard of your water use. We have been actively pursuing the installation of mechanical protection for many years.
City staff will be conducting routine and ordinary water surveys to identify your backflow preventer and if there are unprotected hazards in your plumbing system. We will make recommendations of things you can do to protect your system from contamination and what you can do to protect the public system. We will also provide assistance in locating a Certified Backflow Preventer Tester so that you can make sure yours is working at its best and protecting yours and our system from contamination. This test should be completed annually. Only American Backflow Prevention Association certified testers who have demonstrated their competency in this field are recognized to test backflow preventers in service in our city. Please feel free to email questions and comments to dsorensen@bozeman.net or by calling 582-3221.