08/14/2015
Hello All, Hope you have had a wonderful and productive summer. On July 31, I attended a Virginia Chapter meeting of the American Backflow Prevention Association. I am attaching a handout that deals with an E coli outbreak in Corpus Christi, TX. Please read and comment. The VA ABPA is an informative organization that all of you would be interested in, since a big part of our business is backflow. Its also a good place to meet some of the Cross Connection Control folks we deal with every day.
The have been no significant changes here in the Chesterfield-Richmond area that I am aware of. Of course, all of you probably know by now, on July1 , 2015 the cost of a companion/exclusion meter has gone up $40 to $500 plus the plumbing permit. Richmond (City) is now requiring and enforcing an annual backflow test for commercial and residential systems. If anyone is working in New Kent Couty doing new installs, PLEASE check with Utilities first! You and your customer may be disappointed in the amount of water you will be able to use the the irrigation system, if that system is going to run off of county water.
If any of you have any news for your area, please share.
Thanks! Michelle
Posted: Jul 27, 2015 10:20 PM EDTUpdated: Aug 06, 2015 10:20 PM EDT
Sprinkler system backflow suspected in E-coli contamination
By Bart Bedsole
A backflow preventer keeps water from re-entering the city lines once it has already passed through.
CORPUS CHRISTI -
Corpus Christi utility crews continue working to pinpoint the source of the recent E-coli contamination, and much of their investigation is aimed at finding an absent or failing backflow prevention device on a sprinkler system in the Flour Bluff area.
The devices prevent water that enters private irrigation lines from re-entering the city's water lines and potentially leading to a contamination.
A backflow situation can come about when there is a sudden drain on water in a neighborhood, due to a pipe break or a house fire.
Without a working backflow preventer, water from a sink or bathtub or dirty irrigation line can easily be pulled back into the main lines.
John Holsonback of Hebert Irrigation in Flour bluff says his company constantly inspects these backflow preventers and finds old devices that don't work about once a week.
With hundreds of them spread across Flour Bluff alone, he agrees that it's highly possible that the recent E-coli contamination is due to a backflow preventer failure.
A few years ago, city leaders voted to only require these devices be inspected once every three years, instead of annually.
Holsonback thought it was a bad idea back then, and wonders if the recent contamination confirmed his fears.
He hopes that in light of the water crisis, the city will reconsider the inspection requirements.
"If we test them annually, we have approximately 20% fail rate. If we test them every 3 years, we have a 30-40% fail rate. So there is a greater number of devices failing due to them sitting longer," says Holsonback.
Any irrigation work does require a permit from the city, so utility crews should have an idea which properties are supposed to have a working backflow preventer.
However, if a homeowner attempts to install it on their own, or if a contractor cuts corners on the permitting on installation of a device, it could make it very difficult to pinpoint the source.
http://www.kristv.com/story/29645266/sprinkler-system-backflow-suspected-in-e-coli-contamination
Utility crews suspect an absent or failing backflow prevention device on a sprinkler system may have caused the recent E-coli contamination in Flour Bluff.
