[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Bedford 2-2-1993.
Amendments noted where applicable.]
A.
This chapter shall be known as the "Water Cross-Connection
Control Law of the Town of Bedford."
B.
The intent of this chapter is to:
(1)
Protect the public potable water supply served
by the Bedford Consolidated Water District and any and all water districts
within the town, hereinafter referred to as the "districts," from the possibility
of contamination or pollutants which could backflow or back-siphon into the
public water system.
(2)
Promote the elimination or control of existing
cross-connections, actual or potential, between their customer's in-plant
potable water system, and nonpotable systems.
(3)
Provide for the maintenance of a continuing
program of cross-connection control which will effectively prevent the contamination
or pollution of all potable water systems by cross-connection.
Pursuant to the Federal Safe Drinking Water Act of 1974 and statutes
promulgated in Article 2 of the Public Health Law and in Chapter I, Section
5-1.31, of the State Sanitary Code (10 NYCRR 1 et seq.), the New York State
Department of Health has undertaken a program for preventing water from unapproved
sources from entering the public potable water system. Subpart 5-1 of the
State Sanitary Code, Section 5-1.32, requires that the supplier of all public
water shall protect the public water system by containing potential contamination
within the premises of each individual water user.
A.
The districts shall be responsible for the
protection of the public potable water distribution system from contamination
or pollution due to the backflow or back-siphon of contaminants or pollutants
through the water service connection and any other piping system within the
premises. If, in the judgment of the district, an approved backflow device
is required at the town's water service connection to any customer's
premises, the district or its delegated agent shall give notice in writing
to said customer to install an approved backflow prevention device at each
service connection to said premises. The customer shall, within ninety (90)
days, install such approved device, or devices, at his own expense, and failure
or refusal or inability on the part of the customer to install said device
or devices within ninety (90) days shall constitute grounds for discontinuing
water service until such device or devices have been properly installed. Hazardous
conditions shall be addressed immediately.
B.
The following measures shall be required by
each water user based on the potential hazard to the public water supply system:
(1)
An approved backflow prevention device such
as air gap, reduced pressure zone device, double check valve assembly or approved
equivalent protective device shall be installed in potential backflow conditions
depending on the degree of hazard posed by service connection.
(2)
Users shall submit an application on a form
approved by the State of New York Department of Health and plans for the installation
of protective devices to the district for approval.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings
indicated:
A physical separation sufficient to prevent backflow between the
free flowing discharge end of the potable water system and any other system;
physically defined as a distance equal to twice the diameter of the supply
side pipe diameter but never less than one (1) inch.
Accepted by the Bedford Consolidated Water District or any water
district within the town, meeting applicable specifications stated or cited
in this regulation, or as suitable for the proposed use.
A device which prevents backsiphonage by creating an atmospheric
vent when there is either a negative pressure or sub-atmospheric pressure
in a water system.
Any water supply on or available to the premises other than the purveyor's
approved public potable water supply.
The flow of water or other liquids, mixtures or substances and/or
positive or reduced pressure in the distribution pipes of a potable water
supply from any source other than its intended source.
A device or means designed to prevent backflow or backsiphonage.
Most commonly categorized as air gap, reduced pressure principle device, double
check valve assembly, pressure vacuum breaker, atmospheric vacuum breaker,
hose Bibb vacuum breaker, residential dual check, double check with intermediate
atmospheric vent, and barometric loop.
A condition in which the owner's system pressure is greater
than the supplier's system pressure.
The flow of water or other liquids, mixtures or substances into the
distribution pipes of a potable water supply system from any source other
than its intended source, caused by a sudden reduction of pressure in the
potable water supply system.
A fabricated piping arrangement rising at least thirty-five (35)
feet at its topmost point above the highest fixture it supplies. It is utilized
in water supply systems to protect against backsiphonage.
A method of backflow prevention which requires a backflow prevention
device at the water service entrance immediately after the water meter or,
in the event of no meter, immediately after the point of entry.
Any physical, chemical, microbiological or radiological substance
or matter in water.
Any actual or potential connection between the public water supply
and a source of contamination or pollution.
Bedford Consolidated Water District or any water district within
the town.
The State of New York Health Department and its agent, the Westchester
County Department of Health.
An assembly of two (2) independently operating spring-loaded check
valves with tightly closing shutoff valves on each side of the check valves,
plus properly located test cocks for the testing of each check valve.
A device having two (2) spring-loaded check valves separated by an
atmospheric vent chamber.
A method of backflow prevention in which a backflow preventer is
located to correct a cross-connection at an in-plant location rather than
at a water service entrance.
A device which is permanently attached to a hose Bibb and which acts
as an atmospheric vacuum breaker.
Any person who has a legal title to or license to operate or habitat
in a property upon which a cross-connection is present.
A document issued by the Department which allows the use of a backflow
preventer. A permit to construct and a completed works permit is also required
from the State of New York Department of Health.
Any individual, partnership, company, public or private corporation,
political subdivision or agency of the State Department, agency or instrumentality
of the United States or any other legal entity.
A foreign substance that, if permitted to get into the public water
system, will degrade its quality so as to constitute a moderate hazard or
impair the usefulness or quality of the water to a degree which does not create
an actual hazard to the public health but which does adversely and unreasonably
affect such water for domestic use.
A device containing one (1) or two (2) independently operated spring-loaded
check valves and an independently operated spring-loaded air inlet valve located
on the discharge side of the check or checks. Such device includes tightly
closing shutoff valves on each side of the check valves and properly located
test cocks for the testing of the check valves.
An assembly consisting of two (2) independently operating approved
check valves with an automatically operating differential relief valve located
between two (2) check valves, tightly closing shutoff valves on each side
of the check valves, plus properly located test cocks for the testing of the
check valves and the relief valve.
The point in the owner's water system beyond the sanitary control
of the districts; generally considered to the outlet end of the water meter
and always before any unprotected branch.
The Town Engineer, or his delegated representative in charge of the
Bedford Consolidated Water District, is invested with the authority and responsibility
for the implementation of a cross-connection control program and for the enforcement
of the provisions of this chapter.
A.
The Department will operate a cross-connection
control program to include the keeping of necessary records, which fulfills
the requirements of the Department of Health's cross-connection regulations
and testing of backflow prevention equipment.
B.
The owners shall allow their property to be
inspected for possible cross-connections and shall follow the provisions of
the Department's program and the Department of Health if a cross-connection
is permitted.
C.
If the Department requires that the public
supply be protected by containment, the owners shall be responsible for water
quality beyond the outlet end of the containment device and should utilize
fixture outlet protection for that purpose.
D.
The owner shall be responsible to have a currently
licensed New York State engineer certify that the installation is in accordance
with the approved plans and a certification from an approved tester that the
installation is working as designed and approved. Certifications shall be
provided on New York State Department of Health approved forms.
A.
Department.
(1)
The Department will not allow any cross-connection
to remain unless it is protected by an approved backflow preventer for which
a permit has been issued and which will be regularly tested to insure satisfactory
operation. On new installations, the Department will provide on-site evaluation
and/or review of plans in order to determine the type of backflow preventer,
if any, that will be required. Plans shall be signed and sealed by a currently
licensed New York State professional engineer. The owner, after receiving
approval of the backflow prevention device from the Department, shall submit
an application to State of New York Department of Health to obtain a permit
to construct. The work shall be completed within ninety (90) days from receipt
of the permit to construct issuance. After completion of installation of the
backflow prevention device, the owner shall apply for a completed works permit
by submitting to the State of New York Health Department a certification from
the engineer which states that the installation of the work is in compliance
with the approved plans. The owner shall also submit a certification from
an approved tester of backflow prevention devices that the installation was
tested and is working as designed and approved and in accordance with the
intent of these regulations.
(2)
For premises existing prior to the start of
this program, the Department will perform evaluations and review of plans
and/or inspection of premises and inform the owner by letter of any corrective
action deemed necessary, the method of achieving the correction and the time
allowed for the correction to be made. Ordinarily, ninety (90) days will be
allowed; however, this time period may be shortened by the Department depending
upon the degree of hazard involved and the history of the device(s) in question.
(3)
The Department shall inform the owners, by
letter, of any failure to comply by the time of the first reinspection. The
Department will allow an additional fifteen (15) days for the correction.
In the event that the owners fail to comply with the necessary correction
by the time of the second reinspection, the Department will inform the owners,
by letter, that the water service to the owners' premises will be terminated
within a period not to exceed five (5) days. In the event that the owners
inform the Department of extenuating circumstances as to why the correction
has not been made, a time extension may be granted by the Department but in
no case will exceed an additional thirty (30) days.
(4)
If the Department determines at any time that
a serious threat to the public health exists, the water service will be terminated
immediately. If the Department determines that terminating water service is
not feasible, the owner will be subject to fines listed in another section
of this chapter.
(5)
The Department shall have on file a list of
private contractors who are certified backflow device testers. The owner is
responsible for all costs associated with the installation of backflow prevention
devices.
(6)
The Department will begin initial premises
inspections to determine the nature of existing or potential hazards following
the approval of this program by the Town Board of the Town of Bedford. Initial
focus will be on high-hazard industries and commercial premises.
B.
Owners.
(1)
The owners shall be responsible for the elimination
or protection of all cross-connections on their premises.
(2)
The owners, after having been informed by
a letter from the Department, shall at their expense install, maintain, and
test, or have tested, any and all backflow preventers on their premises.
(3)
The owners shall correct any malfunction of
the backflow preventer which is revealed by periodic testing.
(4)
The owners shall inform the Department of
any proposed or modified cross-connections of which the owners are aware but
have not been found by the Department.
(5)
The owners shall not install a bypass around
any backflow preventer unless there is a backflow preventer of the same type
on the bypass. Owners who cannot shut down operation for testing of the device(s)
must supply additional devices necessary to allow testing to take place.
(6)
The owners shall install backflow preventers
in a manner approved by the Department.
(7)
The owners shall install only backflow preventers
which are shown on a State of New York Department of Health list of approved
backflow prevention devices.
(8)
Any owners having a private well or other
private water source must have a permit if the well or source is cross-connected
to the Department's system. Permission to cross-connect may be denied
by the Department. The owner may be required to install a backflow preventer
at the service entrance if a private water source is maintained, even if it
is not cross-connected to the Department's system.
(9)
In the event that the owners install plumbing
to provide potable water for domestic purposes which is on the Department's
side of the backflow preventer, such plumbing must have its own backflow preventer
installed.
(10)
The owners shall be responsible for the payment
of all permit fees, penalties, annual or semiannual device testing, retesting
in the case that the device fails to operate correctly, and second reinspections
for noncompliance with Department and/or Department of Health requirements.
A.
The Department recognizes the threat to the
public water system arising from cross-connections. All threats will be classified
by degree of hazard and will require the installation of approved reduced-pressure-principle
backflow prevention devices (RPZ) or double check valves (DCV).
B.
To achieve containment, an acceptable backflow
prevention device must be installed in every service connection to a facility.
C.
The degree of hazard shall be determined by
the Department by the use of guidelines in the public water supply guide "Cross
Connection Control Manual," published by the New York State Department of
Health, dated 1981, or any revisions or amendments thereto.
D.
Three (3) categories will be considered when
determining the degree of hazard posed by a facility and making subsequent
determinations of the type of protective device required. They are:
E.
Based on degree of hazard determinations, a
facility will be rated as either hazardous, aesthetically objectionable, or
nonhazardous.
F.
A hazardous facility must be contained through
the use of an RPZ or an air gap.
G.
An aesthetically objectionable facility must
be contained through the use of a DCV.
H.
Hazardous, aesthetically objectionable and
nonhazardous rated facilities should be protected through an internal plumbing
control program to ensure that plumbing cross-connections inside a facility
are adequately protected or eliminated. The internal control program will
be the coordinated effort between the Department and the Town of Bedford's
Building Department to eliminate all existing internal cross-connection and
prevent future cross-connections.
I.
It is not possible to list every circumstance
and facility type that may be encountered by the Department while evaluating
all users. The Department, while evaluating a facility, will rely on experience,
assistance from local Health Department officials and the Cross Connection
Control Program Manual.
J.
Hazardous facilities. The following partial
listing gives examples of the types of facilities which will require an acceptable
RPZ or air gap to be installed in the service connection to the public water
distribution system.
|
Type of Facility
|
Potential Hazard
| |
|---|---|---|
|
Sewage and industrial wastewater treatment plants and pumping stations,
sewer flushers, etc.
|
Sewage and industrial wastewater, contaminated water, toxic chemicals,
etc.
| |
|
Paper manufacturing or processing, dye plants, petroleum processing,
printing plants, chemical manufacturing or processing, industrial fluid systems,
steam generation, rubber processing, tanneries
|
Toxic chemicals, water conditioning compounds. Examples: toxic dyes,
acids, alkalis, solvents, quaternary ammonia compounds, mercury, chromium,
etc.
| |
|
Canneries, breweries, food processing, milk processing, ice manufacturing,
meat packers, poultry processing, rendering companies, etc.
|
Process wastewater, steam, detergents, acids, caustics, refrigeration
lines
| |
|
Hospitals, clinics, laboratories veterinary hospitals, mortuaries, embalmers,
etc.
|
Bacterial cultures, laboratory solutions, blood and tissue waste, toxic
materials, etc.
| |
|
Shipyards, marinas, etc.
|
Sea water, sewage, contaminated water, etc.
| |
|
Metal-plating, photo processing, laundries, commercial car washes, commercial
refrigeration systems, dry cleaning establishments, etc.
|
Toxic chemicals, concentrated cleaning agents, solvents, etc. Examples:
cyanides, fluorides, copper, chromium, caustic and acid solutions, etc.
| |
|
Type of Facility
|
Potential Hazard
| |
|
Commercial greenhouses, spraying and irrigation systems using weedicides,
herbicides, exterminators
|
Toxic chemicals. Examples: ammonium salts, phosphates, 2,4 disodium
arsenide, lindane, Malathion, etc.
| |
|
Boiler systems, cooling towers or internal fire-fighting systems using
conditioners, inhibitors, corrosion control chemicals, etc. Typically: apartment
buildings, cooling towers, warehouses
|
Toxic chemicals. Examples: hydrazine, sodium compounds, antifreeze solutions,
etc.
|
K.
Aesthetically objectionable facilities. The
following partial listings are examples of the types of facilities which will
require an acceptable DCV to be installed in the service connection to the
public water distribution system:
|
Type of Facility
|
Potential Hazard
| |
|---|---|---|
|
Customer fire protection loops, fire storage tanks, with no chemical
additives
|
Stagnant water, objectionable tastes, odors.
| |
|
High-temperature potable water
|
Objectionable temperatures
| |
|
Utilization of good grade dyes
|
Objectionable color
| |
|
Complex plumbing systems in commercial buildings. Typically: barbershops,
beauty salons, churches, apartment buildings, gas stations, supermarkets,
nursing homes, construction sites, carnivals
|
Plumbing errors, obsolete plumbing equipment, poor plumbing inspection/correction
programs
|
L.
Nonhazardous facilities. The containment approach
does not apply. The following partial listing indicates the type of facility
that would qualify:
|
Type of Facility
|
Potential Hazard
| |
|---|---|---|
|
Private homes
|
None; rely on internal plumbing control
| |
|
Dry commercial establishments without complex plumbing systems
|
None; rely on internal plumbing control
|
A.
The Department shall not permit a cross-connection
within the public water supply system unless it is considered necessary, and
it cannot be eliminated.
B.
Application fees are required by the Department
to administer this program. A schedule of fees are attached to those regulations
that list initial and renewal items for permits required under these regulations.
C.
Permits shall be renewed every year and are
nontransferable. Permits are subject to revocation and become immediately
revoked if the owner should so change the type of cross-connection or degree
of hazard associated with the service.
D.
A permit is not required when fixture isolation
is achieved with the utilization of a nontestable backflow preventer.
Any existing backflow preventer shall be allowed by the Department to
continue in service unless the degree of hazard is such as to supersede the
effectiveness of the present backflow preventer, or result in an unreasonable
risk to the public health. Where the degree of hazard has increased, as in
the case of a residential installation converting to a business establishment,
any existing backflow preventer must be upgraded to a reduced-pressure-principle
device, or a reduced-pressure-principle device must be installed in the event
that no backflow device was present.
A.
Reduced-pressure-principle backflow devices
shall be tested and inspected as required.
B.
Periodic testing shall be performed by the
owner's certified tester and results forwarded to the Department. This
testing will be done at the owner's sole expense.
C.
Any backflow preventer which fails during a
periodic test will be repaired or replaced. When repairs are necessary, upon
completion of the repair, the device will be retested at the owner's
expense to ensure correct operation. High-hazard situations will not be allowed
to continue unprotected if the backflow preventer fails the test and cannot
be repaired immediately. In other situations, a compliance date of not more
than thirty (30) days after the test date will be established. The owners
are responsible for spare parts, repair tools or a replacement device. Parallel
installation of two (2) devices is an effective means of the owners'
insuring that uninterrupted water service during testing or repair of devices
and is strongly recommended when the owners desire such continuity.
D.
Backflow prevention devices will be tested
more frequently than specified where there is a history of test failures and
the Department feels that, due to the degree of hazard involved, additional
testing is warranted. Cost of the additional tests will be borne by the owners.
A.
Effective the date of the acceptance of this
cross-connection control program for the Town of Bedford, all new residential
buildings will be required to install a residential dual check assembly immediately
downstream of the water meter. Installation of this residential dual check
assembly on the retrofit basis on existing service lines will be instituted
at a time and at a potential cost to the homeowner as deemed necessary by
the Department.
B.
The owners must be aware that installation
of a residential dual check assembly results in a potential closed plumbing
system within the residence. As such, provisions may have to be made by the
owners to provide for thermal expansion within the closed loop system, i.e.,
the installation of thermal expansion devices and/or pressure relief valves.
The Department strongly recommends that all new retrofit installations
of reduced-pressure-principle devices and double check valve backflow preventers
include the installation of strainers located immediately upstream of the
backflow device. The installation of strainers will preclude the fouling of
the backflow devices due to both foreseen and unforeseen circumstances occurring
to the water supply system, such as water main repairs, water main breaks,
fires, periodic cleaning and flushing of mains, etc. These occurrences may "stir
up" debris within the water main that will cause fouling of backflow devices
installed without the benefit of strainers.
All testers of backflow prevention devices shall be approved by the
New York State Department of Health. Prior to performing certification tests
in the Town of Bedford, each backflow prevention device tester must demonstrate
to the Town Engineer and the Foreman of the Department that he/she is currently
authorized to conduct such tests as approved by the Department of Health.
The Department will publish a list of fees for the following services
or permits:
A.
Initial application and renewal fees.
A.
Any person violating any provision of this
chapter shall be guilty of a violation and, upon conviction thereof, shall
be punished by a fine not to exceed the sum of two hundred fifty dollars ($250.)
and/or imprisonment for no more than fifteen (15) days, or both. Each day
shall constitute a separate and distinct offense, punishable by a like fine
or penalty as herein set forth.
B.
Notwithstanding the penalties hereinabove provided,
the Town of Bedford may maintain an action or proceeding in a court of competent
jurisdiction to compel compliance with or to restrain by injunction the violation
of any provision of this chapter.
C.
The foregoing provisions for enforcement of
the regulations in this chapter are not exclusive, but are in addition to
any and all laws applicable thereto.
