Gridley Municipal Code Ch. 13.13 Water System Protection Measures

In accordance with the requirements of the regulations of the California Administrative Code, Title 17, Chapter V, Sections 7583 through 7622 inclusive, no water service connection to any premises will be installed or maintained by the city unless the public water supply is adequately protected. This regulation supplements and does not supersede local plumbing regulations, codes or ordinances, or State Department of Health regulations.

(Ord. 539 (part), 1988).

Backflow prevention devices shall be installed on each service connection to any premises having:

A. Access to any auxiliary water supply, including any private well on the premises, either active or inactive;

B. Any substance handled under pressure that might possibly be introduced into the water system;

C. Any material dangerous to health or toxic substance that might possibly be introduced into the water system;

D. More than one water connection per dwelling or premises to the city water facilities.

E. The public works director has the authority to review individual property situations to determine the applicability of this section in its entirety.

(Ord. 539 (part), 1988; Ord. 727, 2004).

In general, types of backflow prevention devices required are as follows:

A. A service connection to premises having an auxiliary water supply or internal system containing water of deteriorated quality shall be protected by an approved double-check valve assembly.

B. A service connection to premises handling dangerous or toxic materials such as industrial plants, hospitals, mortuaries, etc., shall be protected by an approved reduced pressure principle backflow prevention device properly located and installed.

C. A service connection to any sewage treatment plant or sewage pump station shall be protected by an air-gap separation to prevent backflow.

(Ord. 539 (part), 1988).

A. Backflow prevention devices required in this chapter shall be approved, installed, inspected and maintained by the city, in accordance with the Manual of Cross-Connection Control, published by the Foundation for Cross-Connection Control Research, University of Southern California, at the expense of the customer.

B. The city may elect to require the customer to furnish and install backflow devices when the size device required is four inches or larger.

C. Regular annual service charges will apply in any case. The city will make inspections of each device at least once a year, or more often if past inspections indicated failure. Persons authorized by the city and sufficiently trained to perform competent inspections shall perform tests. A record of the test results will be maintained by the city and the results summarized and reported annually. Charges for the service shall be in accordance with the current rate schedule as specified in Section 13.13.045. These fees shall also be reflected in the Master Fee Schedule separately adopted by resolution of the city council.

D. After the initial rate modification, effective June 1, 2004, the water system protection fees will be evaluated annually. Any cumulative increase in the Engineering News Record’s Construction Cost Index (CCI) from the CCI used for the existing fee amount resulting in a rate change of at least $25 shall be presented to the city council in a public hearing by the first regular council meeting in March of each year for review and possible adjustment by ordinance. Any adjustment shall be further reflected in the Master Fee Schedule as adopted by resolution of the city council effective April 1 of that year. The minimum fee change shall be $25 reflecting the cumulative CCI change from the CCI used for the currently published fee.

E. The CCI (or its successor) published in January for December of the previous year shall be the index used for determining any rate change. The initial CCI for the purposes of this fee is 6825 as published in the January 2004 Engineering News Record.

(Ord. 539, (part), 1988; Ord. 727, 2004).

Water Protection Device Fees

(Ord. 727, 2004).

The city may discontinue service of water to any premises and may physically disconnect the customers’s piping from the city’s water distribution system if a backflow prevention device required by this chapter has been removed, bypassed or tampered with, and service will not be restored until such condition or defects are corrected.

(Ord. 539 (part), 1988)

City personnel and representatives of the state and county shall have the right of ingress to and egress from the customer’s premises at all reasonable hours for any purpose reasonably related to the furnishing of water service and the exercise of any and all rights secured to it by law or these regulations, including inspection of the customer’s piping and equipment as to compliance.

(Ord. 539 (part), 1988)

The consumer shall provide and maintain reasonable access for city representatives or other authorized governmental personnel to all service connections, meters, backflow prevention devices or other facilities pertinent to water service installed on his premises.

(Ord. 539 (part), 1988)

If a premises is supplied by more than one water connection to the city’s facilities, the consumer is required to have an approved backflow prevention device at each service connection to prevent the backflow of water from one service through another.

(Ord. 539 (part), 1988)