FAQs

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Backflow occurs when the normal flow of water is reversed from its intended direction in any pipeline or plumbing system.  

Backflow is a major environmental and health threat that allows contaminants like sediments, bacteria, and chemicals to mix into clean drinking water supplies.  Backflow prevention are the plumbing mechanisms and methods that prevent backflow from happening.  

Backflow and/or backsiphonage can be created in a water system by a drop in water pressure due to heavy demand or use such as fire fighting, repairs or breaks in the water supply pipe, etc.

The Federal Government passed the Safe Drinking Water Act in 1974, and Georgia adopted these federal standards the same year.  In 1977, Georgia passed the Rules for Safe Drinking Water which states: 

“A supplier of water or any person having control of facilities which may cause the contamination of public water system has the responsibility to prevent water from unapproved sources or any contaminants from entering the public water system.”  In 1983, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources’s Environmental Protection Division amended the above rule and mandated that all public water systems develop Cross Connection Control and/or Backflow Prevention Programs.

By law, every commercial business is required to have backflow protection or cross connection control.  Below is a list of some businesses we regularly test or install backflow preventer assemblies for…

• Restaurants
• Dry cleaners
• Medical offices
• Funeral homes
• Beauty and nail salons
• Car washes
• Multi-tenant retail space
• Any commercial building three stories or taller
• Any commercial space with a dedicated fire service line / sprinkler system
• Churches 

Backflow devices are not necessarily required for single family homes unless they have an irrigation system. When backflow occurs with your irrigation system, it can result in pesticides and other chemicals entering into your water line.  If this occurs, you may wind up drinking the fertilizer you use outside.

Water sits stagnant or trapped in fire protection systems, which leads to a build-up of bacteria and increased mineral content from the piping system.