Backflow/Cross Connection
Are You Concerned About the Quality of the Water You Drink?
The Sandy City Cross Connection Control and Backflow Prevention Program
Sandy City Public Utilities is committed to providing our customers with a clean, safe supply of drinking water and protecting its quality. Our goal to help protect our valuable drinking water resources by providing public awareness and education to you and our drinking water customers on how to prevent contamination and pollution through unprotected cross connections to our important and necessary drinking water supply.
What is a Cross Connection? A Cross Connection is a connection between the public drinking water supply and anything else which may affect the quality of the drinking water. Examples of cross connections can range from a boiler in an office building, a chemical process in an industrial plant, to something as common as a landscape sprinkling system or threaded hose connections at your home. Unprotected cross connections can and may allow contaminants and pollutants to Backflow back into our drinking water supply.
What is Backflow? Backflow is the undesirable reversal of flow of the drinking water supply, which may cause contaminants or pollutants to flow back into the water system through unprotected cross connections. Backflow is caused by two types of conditions. One condition is called backpressure, where the pressure on the customers side becomes higher than the water systems water pressure and may force the water to reverse direction. Another condition, backsiphonage, occurs when there is a drop in the supply pressure of the water system, due to a water line break or fighting a fire. This creates a vacuum which may pull or siphon the contaminants or pollutants back into the drinking water supply.
All facilities, commercial or residential, do have at least one potential or actual cross connection. Cross connections are allowed, provided they have proper protection against backflow. The customer’s responsibility is to protect cross connections against backflow by installing and maintaining backflow prevention devices and assemblies. These devices and assemblies insure that the water flows in one direction, and doesn't allow for pollutants or contaminants to flow back into the drinking water supply.
We appreciate the time you have taken to read this information and your assistance in protecting the public drinking water supplies.
If you should have any questions or would like more information on backflow prevention and our cross connection control program, feel free to contact us at 801-352-4402, or e mail us at grager
Ordinance Definitions relating to Backflow Elements
Certified Backflow Technicians
Other Resources
