Hawaii Administrative Rules › Title 11 - DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH › Subtitle 1 - GENERAL DEPARTMENTAL PROVISIONS › Chapter 21 - CROSS-CONNECTION AND BACKFLOW CONTROL › Section 11-21-2 - Definitions

Current through June, 2024
As used in this chapter:
"Agency" means the department of health, State of Hawaii,
				  and vested with the authority and responsibility for the enactment and
				  enforcement of this ordinance.
"Airgap" means the unobstructed vertical distance through
				  the free atmosphere between the lowest opening from any pipe or faucet
				  supplying water to a tank, plumbing fixture, or other device and the
				  flood-level rim of the receptacle. The vertical distance shall be at least
				  double the diameter of the supply pipe above the flood-level rim and in no case
				  shall the gap be less than one inch.
"Approved" means accepted by the department of health and
				  water purveyor as meeting the applicable specification stated or cited in this
				  ordinance, or as suitable for the proposed use.
"Backflow" means the flow of water or other liquids,
				  mixtures, or substances into the distributing pipes of a potable supply of
				  water from any source or sources other than its intended source. Backsiphonage
				  is one type of backflow.
"Backflow Preventor" means a device or means to prevent
				  backflow into the potable water system.
"Back Pressure" means backflow caused by a pump, elevated
				  tank, boiler or other means that could create pressure within the system
				  greater than the supply pressure.
"Backsiphonage" means the flow of water or other liquids,
				  mixtures or substances into the distribution pipes of a potable water supply
				  system from any source other than its intended source caused by the sudden
				  reduction of pressure in the potable water supply system.
"Certified Tester" means three classes of certified
				  testers:
1) a limited tester has been trained and is qualified to
				  perform periodic testing, inspection, and repairs on the specific devices
				  contained within a specific plant or institution. This person is usually an
				  employee of the plant or institution and has been assigned the duty of taking
				  care of the backflow prevention equipment as part of his overall plant duties,
				  and does not extend to backflow prevention devices that are not part of the
				  specific plant or institution;
2) a general tester been trained and is qualified to perform
				  the periodic testing, inspection, and repairs on all devices that are on the
				  market. This person may be an employee of a water agency, an employee of a
				  municipal agency, or an individual operating a backflow device testing service;
				  and
3) a manufacturer's agent is an employee of a manufacturer of
				  backflow prevention equipment and is thoroughly familiar with the backflow
				  prevention devices produced by his employer. This person may be familiar with
				  other makes and models of backflow prevention devices but is restricted to only
				  his employer's products.
"Check Valve" means a self-closing device which is designed
				  to permit the flow of fluids in one direction and to close if there is a
				  reversal of flow.
"Community Water System" means a public water system which
				  serves at least fifteen service connections used by year-round residents or
				  regularly serves at least twenty-five year-round residents.
"Contamination" means an impairment of the quality of the
				  potable water by sewage, industrial fluids or waste liquids, compounds or other
				  materials to a degree which creates an actual hazard to the public health
				  through poisoning or through the spread of disease.
"Critical Level" means the critical level C-L or C/L marking
				  on a backflow prevention device or vacuum breaker which is a point conforming
				  to approved standards and established by the testing laboratory (usually
				  stamped on the device by the manufacturer), which determines the minimum
				  elevation above the flood-level rim of the fixture or receptacle served at
				  which the device may be installed. When a backflow prevention device does not
				  bear a critical level marking, the bottom of the vacuum breaker, combination
				  valve, or the bottom of any such approved device shall constitute the critical
				  level.
"Cross-Connection" means any physical arrangement whereby a
				  public water supply is connected, directly or indirectly, with any other water
				  supply system, sewer, drain, conduit, pool, storage reservoir, plumbing
				  fixture, or other device which contains, or may contain, contaminated water,
				  sewage, or other waste or liquid of unknown or unsafe quality which may be
				  capable of imparting contamination to the public water supply as a result of
				  backflow. Bypass arrangements, jumper connections, removable sections, swivel
				  or changeover devices, and other temporary or permanent devices through which,
				  or because of which, backflow could occur are considered to be
				  cross-connections.
"Director" means the director of health of the department of
				  health, State of Hawaii, or his duly authorized representative.
"Flood-Level Rim" means the edge of the receptacle from
				  which water overflows.
"Hazard, Health" means any condition, device, or practice in
				  the water supply system and its operation which create, or in the judgment of
				  the director may create, a danger to the health and well-being of the water
				  consumer. An example of a health hazard is a structural defect in the water
				  supply system, whether of location, design, or construction, that regularly or
				  occasionally may prevent satisfactory purification of the water supply or cause
				  it to be polluted from extraneous sources.
"Non-Community Water System" means a public water system
				  that is not a community water system.
"Non-Potable Water" means water that is not safe for human
				  consumption or that is of questionable potability.
"Pollution" means the presence of any foreign substance
				  (organic, inorganic, radiological or biological) in water that may degrade the
				  water quality so as to constitute a hazard or impair its usefulness.
"Potable Water" means water free from impurities in amounts
				  sufficient to cause disease or harmful physiological effects. The
				  bacteriological, chemical, and radiological quality shall conform with
				  Administrative Rule 11-20, "Potable Water Systems."
"Public Water System" means a system for the provision to
				  the public of piped water for human consumption, if such system has at least
				  fifteen service connections or regularly serves an average of at least
				  twenty-five individuals daily at least sixty days out of the year. Such term
				  includes (1) any collection, treatment, storage, and distribution facilities
				  under control of the operator of such system and used primarily in connection
				  with such system, and (2) any collection of pretreatment storage facilities not
				  under such control which are used primarily in connection with such system. A
				  public water system is either a "community water system" or a "non-community
				  water system."
"Secondary Water System" means any water supply in a
				  building or premise maintained in addition to a public water system. Such
				  secondary water system shall include any system, other than the public water
				  supply, supplying surface water from streams, rivers, lakes, ponds, lagoons,
				  reservoirs and cisterns, and groundwater from both deep and shallow sources;
				  also, any supply of public water system which has been stored, held, reserved,
				  treated, and processed in a manner which may detract from the potability of the
				  water by either bacterial, chemical, or radiological nature.
"Submerged Inlet" means a water pipe or extension thereto
				  from a public water supply terminating in a tank, vessel, fixture or appliance
				  which may contain water of questionable quality, waste or other contaminant and
				  which is unprotected against backflow.
"Vacuum" means any pressure less than that exerted by the
				  atmosphere.
"Vacuum Breaker, Atmospheric Nonpressure Type" means a
				  vacuum breaker designed so as not to be subjected to static line pressure or
				  installed where it would be under pressure for not more than twelve hours in
				  any twenty-four hour period.
"Vacuum Breaker, Pressure Type" means a vacuum breaker
				  designed [so as not to be subjected to]
to operate under conditions
				  of
static line pressure.
"Water-Service Connection" means the terminal end of a
				  service connection from the public potable water system; i.e., where the water
				  purveyor loses jurisdiction and sanitary control over the water at its point of
				  delivery to the customer's water system. If a meter is installed at the end of
				  the service connection, then the service connection shall mean the downstream
				  end of the meter. There shall be no unprotected tackoffs from the service line
				  ahead of any meter or backflow prevention device located at the point of
				  delivery to the customer's water system. Service connection shall also include
				  water service connection from a fire hydrant and all other temporary or
				  emergency water service connections from the public potable water
				  system.