You probably don’t often think about it as you passively turn on dozens of water taps in your home every day, but the ability to deliver reliably clean drinking water to millions of people is one of the true marvels of modern engineering. One of the key factors in keeping the systems as safe as they are is protecting against the risk of backflow, which can pose a significant threat to the safety of the drinking water we all take for granted
What are the Basics About Backflow?
On water’s journey from the water treatment center into your home’s water supply lines, it has to pass through many cross connections which feed into sources that contain non-potable water. If any of this non-potable water seeps backwards into the water supply, it results in backflow, and it can no longer be guaranteed that the drinking water that came into contact with the backflow is safe to drink.
There are two main causes of backflow, which are called backpressure backflow and backsiphonage. Backpressure backflow occurs when pressure from the non-potable water exceeds the pressure from the public drinking water system. In backsiphonage, backflow is created when there is a vacuum or absence of pressure in the public water supply.
What is Backflow Prevention?
In order to ensure that backflow does not contaminate an area’s supply of potable water, backflow prevention measures must be employed. This is typically accomplished with the use ofbackflow preventers, which are mechanical devices that act as a physical barrier between the potable and non-potable water supplies at cross connection points.
Although there are numerous types of backflow preventers that are designed to work in specific areas, one of the most ordinary models used in residences is the atmospheric vacuum breaker (AVB). AVBs operate by permitting a regulated amount of air into the pipe at a cross connection in order to stop vacuums from occurring.
How Does Backflow Prevention Affect my Irrigation System?
Residential irrigation systems feature some of the most common cross connection points in the water supply system. Municipalities across the country vary on their requirements for what kind of backflow prevention is required for a residential irrigation system, but the vast majority of irrigation systems are required to have a backflow prevention device. Even if it isn’t against the law, it is still highly recommended to have backflow prevention in place for the health of you and your family.
Backflow Prevention Installation and Inspection
As with any mechanical device, backflow preventers must occasional be inspected to ensure they are functioning correctly. Again, laws differ on when they must be tested, but it’s a safe bet to conduct a test at least when a new irrigation system is installed and during an inspection when a house is sold.
If you have any questions about backflow prevention and your irrigation system, visit www.wetlawn.com or call us at 1-800-WETLAWN. Our irrigation experts can assist you with installation or inspection of any backflow prevention devices.