CROSS
CONNECTION CONTROL AND BACKFLOW PREVENTION
Protect Your Drinking Water: Understanding Cross-Connections
At La Habra Heights County Water District, we work
hard to ensure that the water we deliver
meets or exceeds
all drinking water regulatory standards. Our Cross-Connection Control Program
is one of many critical tools we use to maintain the safety of drinking water
throughout the public water system all the way to the plumbing at your property.
This program is a partnership between the District and
our customers. Your understanding of cross-connections and what you can do to
protect against them prevents contamination of
your drinking water supply, keeping it safe for you and the community.
What is
a cross-connection?
Cross-connections are points in the water system
where non-potable water sources – which are unsafe for drinking — on your
property could contact drinking water. Examples of non- potable
water sources include wash water in a bucket, swimming pools, landscape
irrigation systems, pesticide and fertilizer sprayers, booster pumps, and other
appliances and equipment that use water. Normally, drinking water flows one way
into your property. However, unprotected cross-connections could allow
contaminated water from non-potable sources on your property to backflow—or
reverse flow—into your drinking water system, impacting your property’s water
quality and posing a risk to the drinking water system and public health.
A Public water main is a District
owned pipe that delivers drinking water to your neighborhood. Privately-owned water service
laterals downstream of your water
meter are pipes
that connect the main to your
property.
Where are
cross-connections typically found?
Cross connections can be found
throughout residential and commercial plumbing systems. Here are examples of
where you can look for cross-connections between your drinking water system and
non-potable sources on your property:
·
hose bibbs
·
toilet flush valves
·
swimming pool fill lines
·
space heating boilers
·
recirculation or booster pumps
·
landscape irrigation systems
·
fire sprinkler systems
·
secondary source of water such as a private well or pond
You can also create temporary cross-connections
when you submerge hoses, for example in a bucket full of wash water, or when
you connect a chemical sprayer to a hose.
Why should I be concerned about
cross-connections?
Cross-connections can introduce
harmful contaminants into your drinking water, leading to public health risks.
Examples of contaminants and hazards that could enter your drinking water
system without proper cross-connection control include:
Biological
Contaminants:
·
harmful
pathogens
·
biological
substances, such as blood and fecal matter
Chemical
Contaminants:
·
household
cleaning products such as bleach and detergents
·
pesticides
and herbicides used for pest and weed control
·
fertilizers
·
antifreeze
and corrosion inhibitors used in heating and cooling systems
·
heavy metals
such as chromium or lead used in industrial processes
If they make their way into your
drinking water system, these contaminants degrade water quality and can cause
serious illness.
How can
cross-connections cause contamination?
To maintain a high-quality drinking
water supply, water delivered to your property is intended to flow only in one
direction. However, unprotected cross-connections could allow contaminated water
from non-potable sources on your property to backflow—or reverse flow—into your
drinking water system. Backflow degrades your property’s water quality and
poses a risk to the drinking water system and public health. Backflows can occur
at unprotected cross-connections due to pressure differences.
Backflow can occur in two ways:
1.
Backpressure: When the pressure in a non-potable water
source (such as a boiler) is greater than the pressure in the drinking water
system, contaminants from the non- potable source can
be pushed into your drinking water. Buildings four or more stories high with
booster pumps may generate backpressure.
Backsiphonage: When there is a sudden drop in the drinking water system pressure, such
as during firefighting or a water main break, a vacuum or siphoning effect can
draw non-potable water, and any contaminants present into your drinking water. 
How do I prevent contamination at cross-connections?
An air gap, which is an approved vertical
separation between a drinking water faucet or pipeline and the highest fill
level of a receiving container, can protect against backflow at cross- connections.
There are also several types of backflow prevention assemblies that are
approved for cross-connection control. These assemblies are specifically
designed to prevent reverse flow into the drinking water system when pressure
changes occur.
There are other plumbing fixtures that are used at
cross-connections, such as hose bibb vacuum breakers and irrigation anti-siphon
control valves, which are commonly sold in home improvement stores. These items
can be installed on your property (for example at hose bibbs) to protect water
quality within your property. However, only approved and testable backflow prevention
assemblies may be installed at your water meter to safeguard the public side of
the drinking water system.
For more information on approved cross-connection
control, contact us at 562-697-6769 or customercare@lhhcwd.com.
How do I prevent contamination at cross-connections?
An air gap, which is an approved vertical
separation between a drinking water faucet or pipeline and the highest fill
level of a receiving container, can protect against backflow at cross- connections.
There are also several types of backflow prevention assemblies that are
approved for cross-connection control. These assemblies are specifically
designed to prevent reverse flow into the drinking water system when pressure
changes occur.
There are other plumbing fixtures that are used at
cross-connections, such as hose bibb vacuum breakers and irrigation anti-siphon
control valves, which are commonly sold in home improvement stores. These items
can be installed on your property (for example at hose bibbs) to protect water
quality within your property. However, only approved and testable backflow prevention
assemblies may be installed at your water meter to safeguard the public side of
the drinking water system.
For more information on approved cross-connection
control, contact us at 562-697-6769 or customercare@lhhcwd.com.
What
are the cross-connection control requirements for property owners?
Property owners are responsible for ensuring that
air gaps and backflow prevention assemblies on the owner’s side of the
water meter, where required, are properly installed and maintained on the property.
Air gaps must be inspected annually. Backflow
prevention assemblies must be inspected and tested annually
by certified backflow prevention assembly testers. This helps to ensure that air gaps and assemblies are functioning properly and
continue to protect the drinking water system.
Failure to comply
with these requirements could result in fines or discontinuation of your
water service until proper
cross-connection protection is in place.
For more details, see our Section 42- Cross Connection Control Program
of our Rates, Rules & Regulations.
For more information on cross-connection control
requirements and how we can support you, contact us at 562-697-6769 or email us
at customercare@lhhcwd.com
What are
the steps I can take to prevent backflow?
Don’t
·
Submerge hoses in pools, buckets, or other containers.
·
Attach chemical dispensers, like pesticide sprayers, to
hoses.
·
Connect your drinking water system to an appliance
without proper education on plumbing codes and any potential risks.
Keeping Your Drinking Water Safe: A Shared Responsibility
The State Water
Resources Control Board has new requirements for public water agencies to
provide more information on cross-connections to the public. Together, we can
keep drinking water flowing one way into your property, keeping it safe for you
and the community.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
·
What is a cross-connection?
Cross-connections are
points in the water system where non-potable water sources — which are unsafe
for drinking — on your property could contact drinking water. Examples of
non-potable water sources include wash water in a bucket, swimming pools,
landscape irrigation systems, pesticide and fertilizer sprayers, booster pumps,
and other appliances and equipment that use water.
·
Why does cross-connection control matter?
Normally, drinking
water flows one way into your property. However, unprotected cross- connections
could allow contaminated water from non-potable sources on your property to
backflow—or reverse flow—into your drinking water system, impacting your property’s
water quality and posing a risk to the drinking water system and public health.
·
Why am I hearing about this now?
In December 2023, the
State Water Resources Control Board (State), which regulates drinking water in
California, updated cross-connection control regulations and adopted the
Cross-Connection Control Policy Handbook (CCCPH). The Handbook, which became
effective on July 1, 2024, requires water suppliers to provide information to
customers regarding backflow protection and cross-connection control. You may
see more information on cross-connection control in other materials such as
bill inserts and our annual water quality report (Consumer Confidence Report).
·
What is La Habra Heights County Water District doing about this?
La Habra Heights County
Water District (“District”) is complying with the State’s new and updated
cross-connection control requirements to continue to keep your drinking water
supply safe. These requirements include an updated Cross-Connection Control
Program, including public outreach and education on backflow prevention and
cross-connection control.
Since most residential
properties are considered a low hazard for cross connection, La Habra Heights County Water District
will soon begin mailing hazard self-assessments to properties within District
boundaries. Homeowners can fill out and return theses
assessments to help the District meet its obligation
of always ensuring delivery of safe drinking water to residents and reporting
requirements to the State Water Resource Control Board.
·
Do I have to do anything?
The District
asks that homeowners complete and return a hazard self-assessment within the
allotted time frame. Property owners who already have a backflow prevention
assembly devise or air gap are responsible for ensuring that air gaps and
approved backflow prevention assemblies on the owner’s side of the water meter
are properly installed where required within their plumbing systems,
maintained, and inspected. Air gaps require annual inspection, and assemblies
also require annual testing, by certified backflow prevention assembly testers
or certified cross-connection control specialists. This helps to ensure that
air gaps and assemblies are functioning properly and continue to protect the
drinking water system for you and the community. For more information on
cross-connection control requirements, a list of approved backflow prevention
assembly testers, and how we can support you, contact us at 562-697-6769 or customercare@lhhcwd.com.
·
How do I know if I have a cross-connection?
Cross connections can be found in both
residential and commercial plumbing systems. Here are examples of where you can
look for cross-connections between your drinking water system and non-potable sources on your property: hose
bibbs, toilet flush valves, swimming pool fill lines, space heating boilers,
landscape irrigation systems, recirculation or booster pumps, landscape
irrigation systems, and fire sprinkler systems.
If you have another
source of water for your property, such as a well or pond, that may also be a
source of a cross-connection.
·
What about my property’s irrigation?
The California Cross-Connection
Control Policy Handbook (CCCPH) mandates that irrigation systems
connected to public water supplies be treated as a potential cross-connection
and require appropriate backflow prevention. This means that irrigation
systems, due to their connection to the potable water supply, are considered a
potential source of contamination and must have measures in place to prevent
backflow. Fortunately, plumbing code requires irrigation systems are installed with backflow prevention assemblies so you may
already have a backflow prevention device installed. However, if a hazard
assessment finds an irrigation system without backflow protection, you may be
required to install an approved backflow prevention assembly device.
The illustrations
below show how water from an irrigation system can be prevented from flowing
backward into the District’s water system and your
home by using an approved backflow prevention assembly.
·
Fire sprinkler system requirements
The California Cross
Connection Control Policy Handbook (CCCPH) requires all fire sprinkler systems
to be fitted with a double-check backflow prevention assembly. The District recognizes the city of La Habra Heights and Los
Angeles County’s authority over fire protection systems and will not override
their decisions unless a customer’s fire protection system is specifically
designed to accommodate the pressure drop associated with a Reduced Pressure
(RP) backflow device. Since fire protection systems are approved and regulated
by the city of La Habra Heights and Los Angeles County, any modifications to
these systems fall outside the District’s
jurisdiction. However, in the interest of public health and water quality
protection, the District strongly advises our
customers against adding chemicals to their fire protection systems, as such
systems are now required by the California CCCPH to have RP protection within
10 years after the District’ adoption of our Cross
Connection Control Program.
·
What is thermal expansion of my hot water heater?
Thermal expansion is a
serious plumbing concern, but one that many homeowners know little about. When
heated, water expands in pressure and volume: the contents of a 40-gallon water
tank can expand by half a gallon or more when heated causing problems for
closed looped plumbing systems. If your home has a Backflow Prevention Device,
Pressure Reducing Valve (PRV), recirculating pump with check valve, or anything
else that prevents backflow of water installed, its plumbing system is
considered "closed". A closed system is one in which potable water
has no way to exit a home's plumbing (in an open system, water inside plumbing
can be forced back into the city water main through the supply line). When
heated water expands in a closed system, that additional volume has nowhere to
go if fixtures aren't being used: the backflow preventer, PRV or check valve
blocks the only other path of exit. This would normally prevent a backflow from
your home threatening or contaminating the District’s water
supply, but can be a very bad thing for fixtures, pipes and your water heater
if precautions aren't taken. The pressure added to a closed system by thermal
expansion can wear out seals, damage solenoid valves (like those found on
washing machines, dishwashers) and even rupture pipe.
·
How to Deal with Thermal Expansion
The California
Plumbing Code requires that a thermal expansion device be installed whenever
PRV or backflow prevention is present. This usually comes in the form of an
expansion tank that connects to the water heater or service line, accommodating
volume increases. Other options include valves with discharge outlets that
simply drain whatever the system can't hold, and special toilet fill valves
that drain excess volume into the toilet tank. If an expansion tank is installed
on the supply line, these tanks feature a rubber bladder or diaphragm that
separates an air chamber from the rest of the tank. Air is pumped in to match
the pressure of the water supply. When water expands, instead of building
pressure in the confines of the water heater or plumbing, it enters the
expansion tank, compressing the air. Once expansion has stopped and there's
room, the compressed air pushes the water back into the supply. La Habra
Heights County Water District recommends speaking with a licensed plumber or
the city of La Habra Heights for more information on proper installation of a
thermal expansion device.
Never plug, cap or
tamper with a T&P valve for risk of death, personal injury and property
damage.
·
How can I get more information about cross-connections
and requirements?
For
additional questions and inquiries, please contact us at 562-697-6769 or email
us at customercare@lhhcwd.com
Booster
pump
1ressure
so that higher floors have enough
water pressure.
