[Adopted 1-19-2010 by Ord. No. 350]
The purpose of this article is as follows:
A.
To protect the public water supply from contamination or pollution
by isolating, within the property owner's water system, contaminates
or pollutants which could backflow through the service connection
into the public water system.
B.
To promote the elimination or control of existing cross-connections,
actual or potential, between public and outside water supplies and
nonpotable water system, plumbing fixtures and sources or systems
containing process fluids.
C.
To provide for the maintenance and continuation of a cross-connection
and backflow control program which will prevent the contamination
or pollution of the public water supply.
A.
This article shall apply to all properties, commercial and residential,
that are served public water by the Doylestown Township Municipal
Authority or any other agencies that supply and distribute public
water within Doylestown Township. The Doylestown Township Municipal
Authority or any other provider of public water and the property owner
shall have the joint responsibility for the protection of the public
water supply from contamination or pollution due to cross-connection
or backflow.
B.
If, in the sole judgment of the Doylestown Township Municipal Authority
or other provider of public water, an approved backflow prevention
device is required, the supplier of public water shall give written
notice to the property owner to install such an approved backflow
prevention device at each service connection to the property. The
property owner shall immediately install such approved backflow prevention
device or devices at the property owner's sole cost and expense,
but in any event, said installation shall be accomplished no later
than 90 days from written notice to do so. Failure, refusal or inability
on the part of the property owner to install such device or devices
shall constitute a basis for the Doylestown Township Municipal Authority,
or other agency providing public water, to discontinue providing water
service to the property until such time as the device or devices have
been installed and tested by a certified backflow prevention tester.
The property owner shall not be permitted to drill and/or to operate
a new or existing well to avoid the installation of the backflow prevention
device or devices. Furthermore, the property owner shall not connect
to another public or private water supply system to avoid installation
and maintenance of a backflow prevention device unless said connection
is approved by the Doylestown Township Municipal Authority or other
agency providing public water, in writing.
A.
The water system shall be made up of two parties: one, the public
water supply, and two, the property owner's water system.
B.
The public water supply system shall consist of the source facilities
and the distribution system and shall include all those facilities
of the public water supply system under the control of the public
water supplier up to the point where the property owner's water
system begins, generally at the curb box.
C.
The source shall include all components of the facilities utilized
in the production, treatment, storage, and delivery of water to the
public distribution system.
D.
The property owner's water system shall include all facilities
beyond the curb stops which are utilized in conveying water from the
public distribution system to points of use on the property owner's
premises. No matter where located, the water meter shall be owned
and maintained by the public water supplier.
A.
No water service connection shall be installed or maintained to any
premises where actual or potential cross-connections to the public
water supply system or the property owner's water system may
exist, unless such cross-connections are abated or controlled to the
satisfaction of the Doylestown Township Municipal Authority or other
provider of public water.
B.
No connection shall be installed or maintained whereby water from
an auxiliary water supply may enter a public or property owner's
water system unless such auxiliary water supply, as well as the method
of connection and use of such supply, has been approved, in writing,
by the Doylestown Township Municipal Authority or other agency providing
public water.
A.
The property owner's premises shall be open at all reasonable
times to the Doylestown Township Municipal Authority or other provider
of public water, or its authorized representative, for the purposes
of surveying for, or investigating, actual or potential cross-connections.
B.
Upon request by the Doylestown Township Municipal Authority or other
provider of public water, the property owner shall furnish information
on water use practices within the premises.
C.
It shall be the responsibility of the water consumer to conduct periodic
surveys of water use practices on the property owner's premises
to determine whether there are actual or potential cross-connections
to the property owner's water system.
A.
An approved backflow prevention device shall be installed prior to
the first branch line leading off each service line to the property
owner's water system where, in the judgment of the Doylestown
Township Municipal Authority or other provider of public water, an
actual or potential hazard to the public water supply system exists.
B.
An approved backflow prevention device shall be installed on each
service line to a property owner's water system where the following
conditions exist:
(1)
Systems having an auxiliary water supply, unless such auxiliary supply
is accepted as an additional source by the Doylestown Township Municipal
Authority or other provider of public water and approved by DEP.
(2)
Systems where any substance is handled in such a fashion as to create
an actual or potential hazard to the public water supply system. This
shall include systems having sources or auxiliary systems, which contain
process fluids or waters originating from the public water supply
system, which are no longer under the sanitary control of the Doylestown
Township Municipal Authority or other provider of public water.
(3)
Systems having internal cross-connections that are not correctable,
or intricate plumbing arrangements which make it impracticable to
determine whether or not cross-connections exist.
(4)
Systems where, because of security requirements or restrictions,
it is impossible or impractical to make a complete cross-connection
survey.
(5)
Systems having a repeated history of cross-connections.
(6)
Others specified by the Doylestown Township Municipal Authority or
other provider of public water.
C.
An approved backflow prevention device shall be installed on each
service to a property owner's water system serving, but not necessarily
limited to, the following types of facilities unless the Doylestown
Township Municipal Authority or other provider of public water determines
that no actual or potential hazards to the public water supply system
exist:
(1)
Hospitals, mortuaries, clinics, nursing homes;
(2)
Laboratories;
(3)
Piers, docks, waterfront facilities;
(4)
Sewage treatment plants, sewage pumping station or storm pumping
station;
(5)
Food or beverage processing plants;
(6)
Chemical plants;
(7)
Metal plating industries;
(8)
Petroleum processing or storage plants;
(9)
Radioactive material processing plant;
(10)
Car wash or truck wash; or
(11)
Others specified by the water purveyor.
The type of protection required under § 170-23A, B and C of this article shall depend on the degree of hazard which exists, as follows:
A.
An approved air gap separation shall be installed where the public
water supply system may be contaminated with substances that are dangerous
to public health and could cause a severe health hazard and where
such a device would be technically feasible and or practical.
B.
An approved air gap separation or an approved reduced pressure zone
device shall be installed where the public water supply system may
be contaminated with a substance that could cause a system or health
hazard.
C.
An approved air gap separation, an approved reduced pressure zone
device, or an approved double-check valve assembly shall be installed
where the public water supply system may be polluted with substances
that would be objectionable but not dangerous to health.
A.
Any backflow prevention device required by this article shall be
of a model or construction approved by the Doylestown Township Municipal
Authority or other provider of public water and shall comply with
the following:
(1)
Air gap separation to be approved shall be at least twice the diameter
of the supply pipe, measured vertically above the top rim of the receiving
vessel, but in no case less than one inch.
(2)
A double-check valve assembly or a reduced pressure zone device shall
be approved by the Doylestown Township Municipal Authority or other
provider of public water and shall mean a device that has been manufactured
in full conformance with standards established by the American Water
Works Association (AWWA) entitled "ANSI/AWWA C51 0 Standard for Double-Check
Valve Backflow-Prevention Assembly" and "ANSI/AWWA C511 Standard for
Reduced-Pressure-Principle Backflow-Prevention Assembly." Said AWWA
standards are herein adopted by the public water supplier. Final approval,
however, of the reduced pressure zone device and the double-check
valve assembly shall be evidenced by a certificate of full approval,
issued by an approved testing laboratory, certifying full compliance
with the said AWWA standards.
B.
Existing backflow prevention devices approved by the Doylestown Township Municipal Authority or other provider of public water at the time of installation and properly maintained shall, except for inspection and maintenance requirements, be excluded from the requirement of § 170-25A of this article, provided that the public water supplier is assured that they will satisfactorily protect the public water supply system. Whenever the existing device is moved from the present location, or requires more than minimum maintenance, or when the Doylestown Township Municipal Authority or other provider of public water finds that the maintenance of the device constitutes a hazard to health, the device shall be replaced by a backflow prevention device meeting the requirements of this article.
A.
Backflow prevention devices required by this article shall be installed
at a location, and in a manner, approved by the Doylestown Township
Municipal Authority or other provider of public water. The device(s)
shall be installed by a person properly qualified. Installation of
the device(s) shall be at the expense of the property owner.
B.
Backflow prevention devices installed on the service line to a property
owner's water system shall be located on the property owner's
side of the water meter, as close to the meter as is reasonably practical
and prior to any other connection.
C.
Pits or vaults shall be watertight, flood-free, and maintained free
from standing water by means of either a sump and pump or a suitable
drain. Such a pump or drain shall not connect to a sanitary sewer
nor permit flooding of the pit or vault by reverse flow from its point
of discharge. An access ladder and adequate lighting, natural or artificial,
shall be provided to permit maintenance, inspection, and testing of
the backflow prevention device.
D.
When installing a backflow preventer device, the property owner and/or
installer must comply and be aware of all safety considerations when
installations are performed. Major safety considerations are thermal
expansion and device discharge damage. Thermal expansion can cause
hot-water tanks and other storage vessels to explode when there are
no provisions made for thermal expansion. The Doylestown Township
Municipal Authority or other provider of public water strongly recommends
the installation of a thermal expansion tank on hot-water heaters
to prevent the hot-water heater's relief valve from discharging
or, more important, from exploding. Many backflow prevention devices
discharge large amounts of water for various reasons. This discharge
of water could obviously pose a hazard when the valves are discharging
onto or around electrical equipment. Equipment damage or electrocution
could occur. The property owner and/or installer must ensure that
valve discharge will not cause safety hazards or property damage.
Thermal expansion is a concern anytime substances are confined in
a closed system and are heated.
A.
It shall be the duty of the property owner at any premises on which
backflow prevention devices are required by this article to have inspections,
tests, and overhaul made in accordance with the following schedule,
or more often where inspections indicate a need.
(1)
Air separation shall be inspected at the time of installation and
at least every 12 months thereafter.
(2)
Double-check valve assemblies shall be inspected and tested for tightness
at the time of installation and at least every 12 months thereafter.
These devices shall be dismantled, inspected internally, cleaned,
and repaired whenever needed and at least every 30 months.
(3)
Reduced pressure zone devices shall be inspected and tested for tightness
at the time of installation and at least every 12 months thereafter.
These devices shall be dismantled, inspected internally, cleaned and
repaired whenever needed and at least every five years.
(4)
Pressure vacuum breakers shall be inspected and tested for the capability
to prevent backsiphonage at the time of installation and at least
every 12 months thereafter. These devices shall be dismantled, inspected
internally, cleaned, and repaired whenever needed and at least every
12 months.
B.
Inspections, tests, and overhaul of backflow prevention devices shall
be made at the expense of the property owner and shall be performed
by the Doylestown Township Municipal Authority or other provider of
public water or a person with a valid and current certification to
inspect, test, and overhaul backflow prevention devices.
C.
Whenever backflow prevention devices required by this article are
found to be defective, they shall be repaired or replaced according
to manufacturer's recommendation at the expense of the property
owner within 60 days of notice from the Doylestown Township Municipal
Authority or other provider of public water.
D.
The property owner must maintain a complete record of each backflow
prevention device from purchase to retirement. This shall include
a comprehensive listing that includes a record of all tests, inspections,
and repairs. Records of inspections, tests, repairs, and overhaul
shall be submitted to the Doylestown Township Municipal Authority
or other provider of public water upon request.
E.
Backflow prevention devices shall not be bypassed, made inoperative,
removed, or otherwise made ineffective without specific authorization
by the Doylestown Township Municipal Authority or other provider of
public water.
A.
Where a booster pump has been installed on the service line to, or
within, any premises, such a pump shall be equipped with a low pressure
cutoff device designed to shut off the booster pump when the pressure
in the service line on the suction side of the pump drops 10 pounds
per square inch gauge or less for a period of 30 seconds or longer.
B.
It shall be the duty of the property owner to maintain the low pressure
cut-off device in proper working order and to certify to the Doylestown
Township Municipal Authority or other provider of public water, at
least once a year. that the device is operating properly.
All geothermal heating and cooling systems must remain physically
disconnected (no cross-connections allowed) from public and private
water systems.
Only authorized persons shall be permitted to use fire hydrants.
Tampering with the hydrants by unauthorized persons is prohibited.
Any person wishing to use a fire hydrant other than the Doylestown
Township Municipal Authority or other provider of public water or
fire company must obtain a permit from the Doylestown Township Municipal
Authority or other provider of public water. No cross-connection in
the use of a fire hydrant is permitted.
A.
The Doylestown Township Municipal Authority or other provider of
public water may deny or discontinue, after issuing at least 30 days'
written notice, the water service to any premises wherein any backflow
prevention device required by this article is not installed, tested,
and maintained in a manner acceptable to the Doylestown Township Municipal
Authority or other provider of public water; if it is found that the
backflow prevention device has been removed or bypassed; if an unprotected
cross-connection exists on the premises; or if a low pressure cutoff
device required by this article is not installed and maintained in
working order.
B.
Water service to such premises shall not be restored until the property
owner has corrected or eliminated such conditions or defects in conformance
with this article and to the satisfaction of the Doylestown Township
Municipal Authority or other provider of public water.
C.
Any person who shall violate this article shall be subject to a judgment
in the amount not to exceed $1,000, which said penalty and/or fine
shall be set by the District Judge. Each day that the order to connect
is violated or that the property owner fails to comply with same shall
constitute a separate and distinct violation.
