The town of Century held a workshop Tuesday night to discuss the town’s water backflow prevention and cross-connection control plan (CCCP) with plans to have another workshop to proceed with putting the plan in action and how to fund it.
During council member roll call, Town Clerk Leslie Howington announced she had heard back from Town Attorney Matt Dannheisser that council member appointee Alicia Johnson would be able to sit at the council table and be able to participate in the conversation as the appointed council member during the workshop. There is no Florida statue that requires a municipal elected official to take an oath of office. It is simply traditional.
Johnson has, in the past, worked as water superintendent for the town of Century and has background knowledge of the issues discussed in the workshop.
Dale Long, with Municipal Engineering, led the meeting.
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP), as outlined in the Florida Safe Drinking Water Act, requires all Public Water Systems (PWS) to be responsible for the protection of their public potable water distribution system from backflow of contaminants or pollutants through all water service connections. The statute requires the town: to be responsible for exercising reasonable control over customer’s systems to ensure that proper steps are taken to install, maintain, and test the required backflow prevention systems; to establish a policy regarding the ownership, installation, inspection/testing, and maintenance of backflow prevention where required within the water system; and to adopt a resolution which authorizes the Town to establish and implement a CCC program and references the policies noted within the CCCP.
A cross connection is any temporary or permanent connection between a public water system and any source or system containing non-potable water or other substances. Backflow is the undesirable reversal of flow of non-potable water or other substances through a cross-connection and into the piping of a public water system or consumer’s potable water system. Backflow into a public water system can pollute or contaminate the water in that system which can make the water unusable or unsafe to drink.
Long described the three types of devices used for backflow prevention. One is a dual check device, which is commonly used for residential services. Non-residential services typically use a reduced pressure principle device and a fire water system uses a double check valve assembly.
Long explained a grandfathering exception allows people who have an existing backflow preventer to keep their backflow preventer as long as it tests ok.
“If the town elects to make all commercial backflow preventers reduced pressure and an existing backflow preventer, let’s say at a church had a double-check on it, then they would be grandfathered in an allowed to keep their double-check, as long as it worked and could test out fine,” said Long.
Commercial backflow preventers are tested annually Long said, to ensure compliance.
Long said improper connections can contaminate the water supply and potentially make people sick and cause problems.
“It keeps potable water in the watermain, basically,” said Long. “Differential pressure closes a valve in the backflow preventer so the contaminated water cannot flow back into the water system.”
