What is a backflow prevention assembly? Read on and we will do our best to explain it to you.  Call us at (817) 996-2000 if you have further questions.

Backflow prevention assembly

Backflow prevention assemblies come by quite a few names i.e. check valve plumbing, backflow valve, vacuum breaker, double check valve, but they all do basically the same job: they prevent water from flowing in the wrong direction within the water system, also known as backflow.

Imagine a city with 1,000 properties on its tax role.  The city’s water department is tasked with running water pipes from the main potable water source (reservoir) to those one-thousand properties via a system of water pipes.  A water main, or main pipe, meanders underground throughout the city, and smaller water distribution pipes run from that water main to the individual homes and businesses.  Clean water, also known as potable water, is distributed by means of water pressure.  Giant pumps “push” water throughout the city, and the system works perfectly as long as the constant water pressure is applied.

The occurrence of backflow

All of you have experienced a drop in water pressure from time to time in your home.  If you are taking a shower and someone in your family suddenly turns on the outdoor sprinkler, you will see the water volume drop in the bathroom.  Using that as an example, now consider what might happen if there was a major break in the water distribution main water pipe.  In point of fact, what would happen is that the contaminated water still in your water pipes would reverse flow and flow back in the direction of the city’s water supply.

This would create a horrible health emergency and has, in fact, done so in the distant past.  That is why the Clean Water Act of 1971 was passed by Congress. This Federal Act in fact required all cities to establish a backflow prevention program, and from that act all cities today follow the same guidelines to insure that clean water is always delivered throughout your water system.

Some provisions of the Clean Water Act

The system works like this: high volume properties are required to have backflow prevention assemblies installed at points called cross connection points. These backflow preventers are basically one-way valves which only allow water to flow in the direction it is supposed to flow. The backflow prevention devices must be installed by backflow professionals, who in turn must pass rigorous backflow instruction and testing. All backflow prevention parts must be state-approved. All testing must be done annually.

This is the basis for any backflow prevention program in any city, and as long as procedures are followed to the letter of the law, clean water will always arrive at your home as it was intended to do.

Questions about backflow prevention assemblies, or backflow prevention in general?  Remember you can give us a call for the answers. We are City Backflow Testing, in Fort Worth, Texas, and we have decades of backflow experience to draw upon.  If your problem is related to backflow, we can help.