At the beginning of this month I attended the TREEO Cross-Connection Control Conference in Daytona Beach, Florida. The weather was a nice change from the week before when I was in Anoka, Minnesota teaching a backflow tester certification class in the snow and the cold. It was also spring break for many young college students staying in Daytona Beach which kept the area hopping. The people in attendance were a cross section of the people you would expect to see at a backflow educational conference. They ranged from testers to water company administrators, from educators to valve manufacturers, and from equipment suppliers to building officials.  The people from University of Florida TREEO Center put together a great program and I was honored to be the first technical speaker of the conference.

My Session was titled, Water Issues and Cross-connection Problems in the United States and Beyond. In it we discussed not only backflow issues but also water quality, regulations, and enforcement. We discussed the issues that occurred in Flint, Michigan and the ongoing legal battles in that state concerning what happened there. There is little doubt that some of the individuals involved in the Flint situation will be going to prison. Five individuals have been charged with involuntary manslaughter as result of the death of twelve people from legionnaires disease. One thing that has become clear from the actions that took place in Flint is that people in the United States in many cases can no longer take for granted that the water that flows out of their faucets is safe to drink. In many cases the trust of public officials no longer exists.  After I finished my presentation several of the people asking questions wondering how this could possibly happen here in America. After all we are not a third world country. We have the regulations and infrastructure in place to prevent these issues from taking place.

Other technical sessions included backflow repair, legionella management in water systems, containment and isolation surveys, and several presentations on cross-connection programs in the Washington, DC area and in Florida. There were the normal arguments I see in many areas about who should be allowed to test or repair. Should you need to be a licensed plumber to install test or repair backflow preventers? Should water purveyors conduct the actual testing or should it be done by independent contractors? Whose certification program or testing procedure is better? These are questions I hear whenever cross-connection control is discussed. At this conference however one topic seemed to really be important to everyone I spoke with. The one constant thread I noticed is the discussions I had with attendees was about the enforcement or more accurately the lack enforcement of testing requirements in many areas, especially with regards to isolation protection.

As I travel the country doing training and seminars the lack of enforcement is always on people’s minds. The 2018 Uniform Plumbing Code in section 603.2 states that: Devices or assemblies installed in a potable water system shall be maintained in good working condition by the person or persons having control of such devices or assemblies. Such devices or assemblies shall be tested at the time of installation, repair or relocation, and not less that on an annual schedule thereafter, or more often where required by the Authority Having Jurisdiction. Both the International and National Standard Plumbing code contain similar language requiring at a minimum annual testing of all testable assemblies. Since it is in the code as a mandatory requirement how is it that it is not universally enforced? Some jurisdictions do amend the model code to remove the requirement. Other jurisdictions also say that the testing of backflow prevention assemblies is a maintenance issue and does not belong in a plumbing or building code. However, in many areas it remains in the code and is adopted by statute or regulation. The problem is there is no will or mechanism for enforcement. Personnel and or funding is not in place to monitor the testing of this important cross-connection protection. What can we do about this issue?

We would like to get the discussion going about how to correct this widespread problem. As with so many things it starts with dialogue and education. I would like to begin to put together a committee to study this topic. To look at who does it right, who needs improvement, and who needs education. I am proposing the creation of a committee to create a white paper on the topic and get the industry moving forward in one voice to ensure the testing and maintenance of backflow prevention assemblies installed anywhere within a water system. If you are interested please reach out to me at sean.cleary@iapmo.org and let’s begin to study the issue and talk about solutions. I look forward to hearing from you.

About the Author

Sean is a 40 year member of the United Association Local 524 Scranton Pa. He has worked in all phases of the plumbing and mechanical industry and is a licensed master plumber. Sean is a Past President of the American Society of Sanitary Engineering. Sean is also the member of the ASSE Cross-Connection Control, Technical Committee. Sean is employed by IAPMO as the Vice President of Operations for the IAPMO Backflow Prevention Institute.