Protecting the Public's Water Supply

Protecting the Public’s Water Supply

The protection of the drinking water supply for the South Ogden City Water service area is the utmost importance.

Back flow protection is required by the state on all actual or potential connections between culinary (potable) water system and any other source through which it is possible to introduce contaminates such as: used water, untreated water, industrial fluids, chemicals, gases, bodily fluids, or other substances.  
In accordance with the Utah Public Drinking Water Rules, Section R309-105-12, South Ogden Water District is in the process of taking inventory of all back flow assemblies in our service area.  
A certified back flow technician must do all tests and repairs. The test reports should include any materials or parts used to repair your assembly.  Please send a copy of the test results to the South Ogden City Public Works Department. You should also keep a copy for your own records.

Please note that this is not a voluntary test. This is required under the Safe Drinking Water Act by the Bureau of Drinking Water and South Ogden City.  Please contact the Public Works Inspector at 622-2901 from 7:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.

QUESTIONS:

What is a Back flow?

Back flow is the reversal of flow from a residential or commercial water system back into the public drinking water system. A back flow incident could carry pollutants or contaminants into our public drinking water supplies making them unsafe to use.  The Plumbing Code and the Utah Public Drinking Water Rules require that all cross connections be eliminated or protect against back flow by installing an approved back flow device or assembly. 

What is a Cross-Connection?

A cross-connection is a physical connection (piping configuration) between the public drinking water system and anything else including another water supply that can allow pollutants or contaminants to back flow into the public drinking water system

There are different types of devices designed for various degrees of hazard. Certified testers will work with customers to determine if a back flow exists or which back flow system will work best.

Visit this link for all State of Utah testers.  

https://waterlink.utah.gov/deqWater/public/publicBackflowComm.html

What types of properties are required to install a back flow prevention device?

Unless they receive a specific exemption from DEP, the following types of businesses are required to use back flow preventers:

  • Metal plating, cleaning, processing or fabricating facilities
  • Photo-processing  facilities
  • Laundries and dry cleaners
  • Commercial car washes
  • Greenhouses
  • Hospitals, Clinics and Laboratories (including veterinary hospitals)
  • Medical and Dental Offices
  • Funeral Parlors
  • Food processing plants and meat / fish packers
  • Dye Plants                        
  • Paper processors           
  • Auto Repair Shops
  • Breweries
  • Tanneries
  • Exterminators
  • Large residential dwellings with water boilers that use rust-inhibitors or other      water treatment chemicals, ("treated water boilers")
  • Sewage treatment plants or handling facilities
  • Premises with multiple water service lines;
  • Premises with roof tanks and elevated storage lines Canneries
  • Slaughterhouse / Live Poultry Processing Facilities
  • Ice Manufacturing Facilities
  • Printing Facilities
  • Supermarkets           
  • Premises with large boilers or chemically treated boilers
  • Warehouses (with toxic chemical storage)
  • Premises with Commercial or Public Kitchens
  • Premises with water cooled equipment or chillers
  • Premises with Groundwater Wells
  • Premises that Reuse or Recycle Water
  • Shipyards and Marinas
  • Schools and Colleges
  • Food Preparation Facilities
  • Nursing Homes
  • Barber Shops & Beauty Salons
  • Properties with in-ground irrigation sprinklers