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The Oro Valley Water Utility is responsible for supplying safe drinking water to our customers. In the exercise of this responsibility, the Utility must implement, administer, and maintain a backflow prevention program to protect our public water system.
The Water distribution system is designed to keep the water flowing from the distribution system to the customer. However, when hydraulic conditions within the system deviate from the “normal” conditions, water flow can be reversed. When this backflow happens, contaminated water can enter the distribution system.
The Utility implemented the Backflow Prevention Program in 1996 in response to new requirements in the Arizona State Drinking Water Regulations. The program works to keep the water supply safe from contaminants that could be introduced into the water system through backflow, back-siphonage, or backpressure from a customer’s service line connection. The program does this by requiring the installation, testing, and maintenance of approved backflow prevention assemblies on the water service as per the Town’s plumbing codes and ordinances. Water customers with service protection backflow assemblies are notified by mail that the yearly inspection of their assembly is due.
The Utility requires that the contractor doing any work on a Backflow Prevention Assembly be certified. This includes, but is not limited to testing, repairing, installing, retrofits, and replacements of Backflow Prevention Assemblies.
A plumbing permit is required for installation, retrofit, or replacement of a Backflow Prevention Assembly. Please see the Backflow Installation Standard Details for more information.
The purposes of this backflow prevention and cross-connection control program is to protect the public potable water supply for the Town of Oro Valley from the possibility of contamination or pollution by preventing the backflow of contaminants and pollutants. To promote the elimination or control of cross-connections, actual or potential, between a customers’ internal water systems, plumbing fixtures, industrial piping systems, and the public water supply. To provide for a continuing “service protection” program of cross-connection control that will prevent the contamination or pollution of the public potable water supply system.