Chapter 13.52 — CONTROL OF BACKFLOW AND CROSS-CONNECTIONS TO THE MUNICIPAL WATER

SYSTEM[4]

Editor's note— Ord. No. 701, §1, adopted March 8, 2022, repealed the former Ch. 13.52, §§13.52.010— 13.52.140, and enacted a new Ch. 13.52 as set out herein. The former Ch. 13.52 pertained to control of backflow and cross-connections to the municipal water system and derived from (Ord. 496 §1(part), 1998)

The purpose of this section is to protect the public water supply system from contamination due to potential and actual cross-connections. This shall be accomplished by the establishment of a cross- connection control program as required by State regulations. This section is adopted pursuant to Title 17, Sections 7583—7605, inclusive, of the California Code of Regulations, entitled "Regulations Relating to Cross-Connections."

(Ord. No. 701, §1, 3-8-2022)

The public works director shall be responsible for implementing and enforcing the city's cross-connection control program. An appropriate backflow prevention assembly as further set forth in this chapter and approved by the city shall be installed by and at the expense of the water user at each user connection where required to prevent backflow from the water user's premises to the domestic water system. It shall be the water user's responsibility to comply with the city of Exeter's requirements. Refusal or inability on the part of the customer to install the proper device or devices will immediately constitute grounds for discontinuing water service to the premises until the appropriate devices have been properly installed.

(Ord. No. 701, §1, 3-8-2022)

The type of protection that shall be provided to prevent backflow into the public water supply system shall be commensurate with the degree of hazard, actual or potential, that exists on the water user's premises. Unprotected cross- connections with the public water supply are prohibited. The type of backflow prevention assembly that may be required (listed in decreasing level of protection) includes: Air-gap separation (AG), Reduced Pressure Principal Backflow Prevention Assembly (RP), and Double Check Valve Assembly (DC). The water user may choose a higher level of protection than required by the water supplier. The minimum types of backflow prevention required to protect the approved water supply at the user's water connection to premises with varying degrees of hazard are listed in Table 1 of Section 7604, Title 17. California Drinking Water-Related Laws - California State Water Resources Control Board California Drinking Water-Related Laws - California State Water Resources Control Board Situations which are not covered in Table 1 shall be evaluated on a case-by-case basis and the appropriate backflow prevention shall be determined by the water supplier or health agency.

(Ord. No. 701, §1, 3-8-2022)

The device type required will be determined by the USC Foundation for Cross-Connection Control Guidelines or the city of Exeter public works director. Only backflow prevention assemblies which have been approved by the USC Foundation for Cross-Connection and Hydraulic Research shall be acceptable for installation by a water user. A list of approved backflow prevention assemblies is available at USC Foundation for Cross-Connection Control and Hydraulic Research: List of Approved Backflow Prevention Assemblies. Backflow prevention assemblies shall be installed in a manner prescribed in Section 7603, Title 17. Location of the assemblies shall be as close as practical to the user's connection. The city of Exeter shall have the final authority in determining the required location of the backflow prevention assembly.

Testing of backflow assemblies shall be conducted only by qualified testers and testing will be the responsibility of the water user. A list of approved testers is available from the American Water Works Association ("AWWA") by calling 909-481-7200 and the American Backflow Prevention Associations ("ABPA") at http://www.abpa.org/. Backflow prevention assemblies must be tested at least annually and immediately after installation, relocation or repair. More frequent testing may be required if deemed necessary by the city of Exeter. No assembly shall be placed back in service unless it is functioning as required. These assemblies shall be serviced, overhauled, or replaced whenever they are found to be defective and all costs of testing, repair, and maintenance shall be borne by the water user. Approval must be obtained from the city of Exeter prior to removing, relocating or replacing a backflow prevention assembly.

(Ord. No. 701, §1, 3-8-2022)

A.

All fire protected services must include a USC Foundation for Cross-Connection approved backflow prevention device installed in a location approved by the public works director. Only device on the USC list of approved devices may be used. A DCDA, DCDAII, RPDA, and RPDAII are recommended but other USC approved devices may be considered. The device type required will be determined by the level of potential hazard.

B.

A backflow prevention assembly is not necessary for a low hazard cross-connection residential protection system if the following criteria are satisfied:

If the fire protection system is designed and operated such that:

a.

The user premises has only one service connection to the PWS;

b.

A single service line onto the user premises exists that subsequently splits on the property for domestic flow and fire twenty protection system flow, such that the fire protection system may be isolated from the rest of the user premises;

c.

A single, water industry standard, water meter is provided to measure combined domestic flow and fire protection system flow;

d.

The fire protection system is constructed of piping materials certified as meeting NSF/ANSI Standard 61; and

e.

The fire protection system's piping is looped within the structure and is connected to one routinely used fixture (such as a water closet) to prevent stagnant water; and

The backflow prevention assembly would cause a pressure loss in the user premises that would result in inadequate functioning of the fire protection system that cannot be reasonably remedied.

(Ord. No. 701, §1, 3-8-2022)

A.

This chapter applies to new and existing domestic and fire protection services.

B.

If ownership or occupancy of a property changes, said property is subject to inspection by a cross- connection control specialist. If said inspection results in discovery of an imminent or potential hazard, a backflow prevention device must be installed. The device type will be determined by the specialist and the public works director.

(Ord. No. 701, §1, 3-8-2022)

The cross-connection control program shall be administered by the public works director. Unless otherwise approved in advance by the public works director, refer to the data in Section 13.52.050 above for a list of approved backflow prevention assemblies, as well as a list of approved backflow prevention assembly testers. Water user premises inspections as performed by a cross-connection specialist, to evaluate the degree of potential hazard, must be reviewed by the city prior to recommending corrective action. The city

of Exeter shall notify users when an assembly needs to be tested. The notice shall contain the date when the test must be completed.

(Ord. No. 701, §1, 3-8-2022)

A.

When the city of Exeter encounters water use that represent a clear and immediate hazard to the potable water supply that cannot be immediately abated, the procedure of terminating water service shall be instituted.

B.

Conditions of water use that create a basis for water service termination shall include, but are not limited to, the following:

Refusal to install or test a backflow prevention assembly, or to repair or replace a faulty backflow prevention assembly.

Direct or indirect connection between the public water system and a sewer line.

Unprotected direct or indirect connection between the public water system and a system or equipment containing contaminants.

. Unprotected direct or indirect connection between the public water system and an auxiliary water system.

Any condition or situation that has the potential for placing the safety of the water supply at risk determined by the cross-connection control specialist or the public works director.

C.

For condition B.1 above, the city of Exeter will terminate service to a water user's premises after proper notification has been sent. If no action is taken within the allowed time period, water service shall be terminated.

D.

For conditions B.2, B.3, B.4, or B.5, the city of Exeter shall take the following steps:

Make reasonable effort to advise the water user of intent to terminate water service;

Terminate water service and lock service valve. The water service shall remain inactive until correction of violations have been approved by the city of Exeter.

(Ord. No. 701, §1, 3-8-2022)

A.

Enforcement Objectives. It is one of the objectives of the city council that the citizens of Exeter are encouraged to voluntarily comply with the provisions of this chapter. In furtherance of said objective, the enforcement of this chapter may permit the issuance of a first warning of violation of this chapter, by way of a written courtesy notice of violation to the user, before the issuance of a citation for further violations.

B.

Notwithstanding the forgoing, any person violating any provision of this chapter shall be deemed guilty of an infraction which shall be punishable by a fine of up to one hundred dollars for the first infraction, two hundred dollars for the second infraction and five hundred dollars for the third and each subsequent infraction. Each day that a violation continues shall be regarded as a new and separate offence, except where the infraction cannot be immediately remedied by shutting off the source, in which case not more than forty-eight hours will be allowed to correct the problem. Beyond that, each new day will constitute a new and separate offense.

C.

Notwithstanding the preceding subsections, the city of Exeter may enforce violations of this chapter utilizing any available remedies provided for in its Code or ordinances, including but not limited to the remedies afforded the city in Chapters 1.12 and 1.13.

(Ord. No. 701, §1, 3-8-2022)