Protect Your Drinking Water: Understanding Cross-Connections
Bella Vista Water District is committed to ensuring that the water we deliver to you meets or exceeds all drinking
water regulatory standards. Our Cross-Connection Control Policy is one of many critical tools we use to maintain
the safety of drinking water throughout the public water system. This policy is a partnership between the District
and our customers. By working together, we can protect against cross-connections and help keep the public water
supply 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,
could contact drinking water. Examples of non-potable water sources include buckets of washwater, 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, pressure differences in the water distribution
system could allow contaminated water from non-potable sources on your property to backflow—or reverse flow—
into your drinking water system through unprotected cross-connections, impacting your property’s water quality
and posing a risk to the drinking water system and public health.
How can a backflow condition occur?
Backflow will occur whenever the pressure of the public water system becomes lower than the customer’s system
beyond the water meter. These conditions may be caused by elevation changes, surges, or pressure differentials
generated by booster and injection pumps. Backsiphonage may occur from pressure differentials caused by reduced
pressure within the potable water system and may occur as a result of power outages or excessive supply line
demands caused by a pipeline break or firefighting.
Why should I be concerned about cross-connections and backflow conditions?
During a backflow event, 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
If they make their way into your drinking water system, these contaminants degrade water quality and can cause serious illness.
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 bibs
- Toilet flush valves
- Swimming pool fill lines
- Space heating boilers
- Recirculation or booster pumps
- Landscape irrigation systems
- Fire sprinkler systems
- Auxiliary water supplies such as private well or pond
- Animal water troughs
You can also create temporary cross-connections when you submerge hoses, for example in a bucket full of washwater, or when you connect a chemical sprayer to a hose.
How do I prevent contamination at cross-connections?
There are 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. 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, is another common form of protection against backflow at cross-
connections.
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.
Some additional steps to prevent contamination are:
Don't:
- Submerge hoses in pools, ponds, buckets, or other containers, unless a vacuum breaker is installed.
- Attach chemical dispensers, like pesticide sprayers, to hoses, unless a vacuum breaker is installed.
- Connect your drinking water system to an appliance without proper education on plumbing codes and any potential
risks.
Do:
- Inspect your plumbing for potential unprotected cross-connections.
- Use air gaps or approved backflow prevention assemblies to protect against backflow
- Contact us if you notice changes in your water quality or suspect contamination of your drinking water at (530)
241-1085.
What are the cross-connection control requirements for property owners?
Property owners are responsible for the proper installation and ongoing maintenance of any required backflow
prevention assemblies located on the customer’s side of the water meter.
If a backflow prevention assembly is required, all associated costs—including the purchase, installation, and
testing—are the sole responsibility of the property owner as a condition of water service. Each assembly must be
inspected and tested at the time of installation and re-tested annually to ensure continued protection of the public
drinking water system. The District will assess a fee for the initial inspection and testing of the assembly. Ongoing
annual testing may be performed by the District for an additional cross-connection fee, which will appear on your
bi-monthly water bill. This fee includes up to one hour of labor for minor repairs if the assembly fails testing. Any
necessary parts or additional labor will be billed to the customer.
Alternatively, property owners may choose to hire an independent contractor for annual testing or repairs. The
contractor must be a certified backflow tester and appear on the District’s list of approved testers. In such cases, a
valid certificate of inspection must be submitted to the District annually.
A list of approved backflow prevention assemblies and the applicable construction standards for installation is
available on request.
Failure to comply with these requirements could result in fines and discontinuation of water service until proper
cross-connection protection is in place.
Resources
List of District-approved backflow prevention assemblies:
District Approved Assemblies.pdf
BVWD Construction Standards for backflow prevention assemblies:
Backflow Installation Construction Standards.pdf
State Water Resources Control Board Cross-Connection Control Policy Handbook:
https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/drinking_water/certlic/drinkingwater/cccph.html
Bella Vista Water District's Cross-Connection Control Policy can be found in Article XI in our Policy Handbook. To access our Policy Handbook, go to https://bvwd.org/policies
For Any Further Questions, please contact the District at: (530) 241-1085
