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What You Ought to

Know About Backflow..

Back flow prevention is a familiar term to people who work in the water industry.  Many of our customers have heard that phrase too, but may know little about the significant role backflow prevention plays in water quality.

Rincon works hard to protect your drinking water from contamination through a strict water quality process.  However, once water passes from our water mains and through the meter, who or what protects the quality of the drinking water that flows from the meter into your home or business?  The answer to this question is: Rincon, our customers, and backflow devices.

Water, like electricity, always takes the path of least resistance, traveling from areas under high pressure to areas under lower pressure.  Under normal conditions, Rincon's water travels in one direction, from our water main towards your property.  But under irregular conditions, like a water main break or a broken fire hydrant, the water can be forcibly sucked back into the system.

Now You See It...

Although this sounds harmless, water that is in the pipes on the property owner's side of the meter can be exposed to many outlets and fixtures.  These would include sinks, irrigation systems, toilets, showers, washing machines, hose bibs, and commercial fixtures like boilers and water towers - all of which can be exposed to chemicals and other contaminants.  Some appliances have backflow devices built-in for this very reason, yet landscape irrigation, spas, swimming pools, solar systems, or even a bucket of soapy water being filled by a garden hose, are examples why extra protection may be required.  Imagine what would happen if someone had a hose in a bucket of liquid fertilizer and a loss of pressure occurred on a system without a backflow device!

Rincon oversees a backflow prevention program, as required by California State health laws, to ensure that backflow devices are installed and maintained where backflow is considered a risk.  Typically, backflow devices are required for properties where necessary and that use or contain industrial fluids, irrigation system fertilizers, and/or well water.  This is determined when a customer submits an initial application for water service or if deemed necessary by a cross-connection control survey.

...Now You Don't!

Backflow devices are like safety belts, protecting you from events that may never happen.  So if you have a backflow prevention device on your property, please do you part by making sure that your device is annually tested.  If repairs are needed, be certain to have those repairs made as quickly as possible.  Remember that if the device is repaired or replaced it must be retested - contact our office for a Field Test Report form. You can contact Fred Stauffer, Rincon's Backflow Specialist, with your backflow questions by clicking above or by dialing (760) 745-5522 on your telephone.

For more information about backflow devices, click here for a direct link to the Cross Connection Control Advisory Committee of San Diego County.

Need Backflow Assistance?  If you need help finding someone to certify or install a backflow device, go to any internet search engine (ie. google.com, yahoo.com, msn.com, etc) and type in the words: "Backflow Tester Escondido".