What is a backflow preventor?

If you were to poll 100 people on the street, chances are good only two or three would have the correct answer to that question about back flow preventors.

From the National Plumbers Manual:  A backflow preventor is a device that’s installed on your home’s water pipes that allows water to flow in one direction but never in the opposite direction. Its sole job is to prevent drinking water from being contaminated due to backflow.

WHAT IS BACKFLOW?

Which then leads us to a discussion about backflow, and to truly understand what back flow is, you need a basic understanding of how your water system works.  Water flows from your city’s water supply to your home or business by means of water pressure.  The water pressure is strongest at the city’s end of the system, and that strong pressure “pushes” water through the miles of pipes to the consumers.

Everything is fine as long as the water pressure is greatest at the city’s end of the piping system; the problems arise should the water pressure suddenly drop, and this can happen if there is a large water main break, or several fire hydrants are opened at once to fight a major fire.  If those things happen, it is theoretically possible for the pressure to drop so much that water actually flows backwards, back towards the city’s potable water supply.  If that should happen, there is a distinct possibility that polluted water would flow into the clean, potable water, creating a health risk for the entire city.

HOW TO PREVENT BACK FLOW

That situation is back flow, and backlow can only be prevented by the installation of a backflow preventor.  Now none of this information is new.  Backflow preventors like those made by Ames and FEBCO have been around for decades, installed at business locations, in irrigation systems, any locale where there is a high chance of pollution.  All cities across America have a backflow prevention policy in place.  The policies might be slightly different from place to place, but basically they require that backflow preventors be inspected yearly, and that they be inspected, repaired, and/or installed by a licensed and certified backflow tester.  That backflow tester must undergo schooling and training in order to do the job properly according to the Clean Water Act of the 1970s and according to USC 10^th Addition Testing Procedures:

• Notify- Notify the customer we are here for testing
• Identify- Make sure serial number is correct and that we have the right assembly
• Inspect- Make sure there are 4 test ports and 2 Shut off handles
• Observe- Attach test equipment and follow proper backflow test  procedures  for this assembly
• Test Reports- Enter values for the  assemblies
• Turn in all test Reports to the local water Purveyor or City

 

For more information about backflow preventor, you can call the folks at City Backflow Testing at (817) 996-2000.  We’ve been testing, repairing, and installing backflow devices for quite a few years now, and we would be happy to answer any questions you might have.  We’ve got your back when it comes to backflow prevention and backflow inspection.