Saturday, February 11, 2012

Tacoma Backflow Testing Allows For A Safe Water Supply

February 25, 2010 by  
Filed under Home Family

The reason for Tacoma Backflow Testing, and the need for a prevention device should be obvious to anyone living in any community; it keeps all of us safe, especially through our water supply. The purpose is to keep the water supply safe for everyone, and that requires vigilance on the part of every homeowner.

In order for the delivery of water to be assured clean and healthy, the pressure of the system must be maintained. Anything that compromises the overall pressure allows for a means of contaminant introduction. A structural breach of the pipes will also serve as a contamination point, allowing surface contaminants to leech into the water system.

The number of situations that can allow for the introduction of contaminants into the overall system include maintenance of the system itself, as in water line flushing. When the system is stressed during the process of firefighting, there can be a periodic, unavoidable loss in system pressure.

The use of the system in these difficult but predictable ways can be a source of contamination, but by far the greatest source is the individual homeowners lawn care sprinkler systems. While the addition of a backflow device is the correct solution to the problem, like any mechanical device it is subject to failure over time. That is why most municipalities require the device be tested and certified on an annual basis.

The construction and layout of any system that connects with the city water system has to incorporate a device to prevent the introduction of surface water and its associated contaminants. Lawn sprinkling system have a twofold problem, not only can they allow surface water back into the system, they carry with them water the fertilizers and soil form the lawn they are nurturing.

The solution to this kind of incidence is the establishment of an air buffer, or gap, between the source of the water, the delivery main, and the point of local storage. This allows for the safety of the water that is delivered to the public.

For overall safety, most municipalities require some means or mechanism to be installed to prevent the possibility of backflow. An air gap will prevent backflow, as will a mechanical mechanism, of which there are three main types: the reduced-pressure principle assembly, the pressure vacuum breaker assembly, and the double check valve assembly.

The requirement for Tacoma Backflow Testing is a solid way to assure the community that the city is actively pursuing a safe and available source of uncontaminated water. The complexity of the system makes it imperative that every possible source of contamination be monitored and eliminated where possible. The use of effective backflow devices allows homeowners to have the automatic sprinkling systems they covet without endangering the water supply for everyone else.

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