Compilation of Rules and Regulations of the State of Georgia › Department 391 - RULES OF GEORGIA DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES › Chapter 391-3 - ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION › Subject 391-3-5 - RULES FOR SAFE DRINKING WATER › Rule 391-3-5-.13 - Cross Connections

Current through Rules and Regulations
				filed through June 27, 2024
(1)
Prohibitions.
No person
				shall construct, maintain or operate a physical arrangement whereby a public
				water system is or may be connected directly or indirectly with a non-potable
				water system or non-permitted water system, sewer, drain, conduit, pool,
				storage reservoir, plumbing fixture, or other device which contains or may
				contain contaminated water, liquid, gasses, sewage or other waste of unknown or
				unsafe quality, which may be capable of imparting contamination to the public
				water system as the results of backflow, bypass arrangements, jumper
				connections, removable sections, swivel or changeover devices, or other
				temporary, permanent or potential connections through which or because of which
				back-flow or back-siphonage could or would occur.
(2)
Contamination Prevention.
A
				supplier of water or any person having possession or control of facilities
				which may cause the contamination of a public water system has the
				responsibility to prevent water from unapproved sources or any contaminants
				from entering the public water system by such physical arrangements cited in
				paragraph (1) of this Section.
(3)
Purchasers and Resellers.
Any person connecting to and purchasing
				water from a public water system and reselling it to others is considered a
				supplier of the water so purchased as well as a consumer, and is also
				responsible for the quality of such water.
(4)
Cross-Connection Control
				Program.
A supplier shall, when requested by the Division, develop a
				control program for the elimination and prevention of all cross-connections. A
				written plan for the program shall be submitted to the Division for review and
				approval within two (2) years or less in accordance with a written request by
				the Division. When the plan is approved, the owner shall implement the program
				immediately.
(5)
Conformance
				with National Standards.
The procedures for back-flow and back-siphonage
				prevention and cross-connection control shall conform to those recommended by
				the American Water Works Association, Manual 14, and the U.S. Environmental
				Protection Agency Cross-Connection Manual.
(6)
Backflow Prevention Assemblies
				Field Testing.
The supplier shall require that all backflow prevention
				assemblies installed pursuant to this section be field tested following
				installation, repair, or relocation and at least annually thereafter.
(7)
Certified Backflow Testing.
After October 1, 2004, all required field testing shall be performed by persons
				who are certified in the testing of backflow prevention assemblies by the
				Georgia Statewide Backflow Prevention Assembly Certification Program, as
				approved by the Division, the American Backflow Prevention Association (ABPA),
				the American Society of Sanitary Engineers (ASSE) or the University of Florida
				TREEO Center.
(8)
Gauge
				Accuracy.
Gauges used in the testing of backflow prevention assemblies
				shall be tested for accuracy annually in accordance with the University of
				Southern California Manual of Cross-Connection Control or American Water Works
				Association Manual 14. Public water systems shall require testers to include
				test gauge serial numbers on "Test and Maintenance" report forms and ensure
				testers have gauges tested for accuracy.
(9)
Record Maintenance.
Each
				water supplier shall maintain records of the following for a minimum of three
				(3) years:
(a) Most current hazard
				assessment, conducted pursuant to Section 608 of the Georgia State Minimum
				Standard Plumbing Code (International Plumbing Code);
(b) Locations and types of backflow
				protection and associated hazards;
(c) Results of all backflow prevention
				assembly field testing and air gap inspections; and
(d) Repairs made to, or replacement or
				relocation of, backflow protection.
(e) Summaries of the information in sections
				(9)(a) - (d) shall be available to the Division on request for a minimum of
				three years.
(f) The supplier shall
				ensure that backflow prevention assemblies that fail the field test are
				repaired or replaced within thirty (30) days.
(g) The supplier shall ensure that bypass
				piping installed around any approved backflow preventer is equipped with a
				backflow preventer providing an equivalent level of protection.
(h) Reduced pressure principal backflow
				prevention assemblies shall not be installed in any location subject to
				possible flooding. This includes pits and/or vaults which are not provided with
				a gravity drain to the ground's surface that is capable of exceeding the
				discharge rate of the relief valve.
(i) Each supplier shall notify the Division
				of any known incident of backflow into the public water system as soon as
				possible but no later than the end of the next business day upon discovery of
				the incident. If requested to do so by the Division, the supplier shall submit
				a written report of the incident describing the nature and severity of the
				backflow, the actions taken by the water supplier in response to the incident,
				and the action plan intended to prevent such incidents in the future.
(j) The supplier of water shall deny or
				discontinue water service to a commercial consumer if a required backflow
				prevention device is not installed or properly maintained. Water service shall
				not be restored to such premises until the deficiencies have been corrected or
				eliminated to the satisfaction of the supplier and the Division. Residential
				connections shall be maintained in accordance with the Georgia State Minimum
				Standard Plumbing Code (International Plumbing Code).