California Code of Regulations › Title 17 - Public Health › Division 1 - State Department of Health Services › Chapter 5 - Sanitation (Environmental) › Subchapter 1 - Engineering (Sanitary) › Group 4 - Drinking Water Supplies › Article 2 - Protection of Water System › Section 7604 - Type of Protection Required

Current through Register 2024 Notice Reg. No. 28, July 12, 2024
The type of protection that shall be provided to prevent
						  backflow into the public water supply shall be commensurate with the degree of
						  hazard that exists on the consumer's premises. The type of protective device that
						  may be required (listed in an increasing level of protection) includes: Double Check
						  Valve Assembly-(DC), Reduced Pressure Principle Backflow Prevention Device-(RP), and
						  an Air-gap Separation-(AG). The water user may choose a higher level of protection
						  than required by the water supplier. The minimum types of backflow protection
						  required to protect the public water supply, at the water user's connection to
						  premises with various degrees of hazard are given in Table 1. Situations which are
						  not covered in Table 1 shall be evaluated on a case-by-case basis and the
						  appropriate backflow protection shall be determined by the water supplier or health
						  agency.
TABLE 1
TYPE OF BACKFLOW PROTECTION REQUIRED
Degree of
								  Hazard
Minimum Type of Backflow
								  Prevention
(a) Sewage and Hazardous Substances
(1) Premises where there are waste water pumping
								  and/or treatment plants and there is no interconnection with the potable water
								  system. This does not include a single-family residence that has a sewage lift pump.
								  A RP may be provided in lieu of an AG if approved by the health agency and water
								  supplier.
AG
(2) Premises where hazardous substances are handled in
								  any manner in which the substances may enter the potable water system. This does not
								  include a single-family residence that has a sewage lift pump. A RP may be provided
								  in lieu of an AG if approved by the health agency and water
								  supplier.
AG
(3) Premises where there are irrigation systems into
								  which fertilizers, herbicides, or pesticides are, or can be,
								  injected.
RP
(b) Auxiliary Water Supplies
(1) Premises where there is an unapproved auxiliary
								  water supply which is interconnected with the public water system. A RP or DC may be
								  provided in lieu of an AG if approved by the health agency and water
								  supplier.
AG
(2) Premises where there is an unapproved auxiliary
								  water supply and there are no interconnections with the public water system. A DC
								  may be provided in lieu of a RP if approved by the health agency and water
								  supplier.
RP
(c) Recycled Water
(1) Premises where the public water system is used to
								  supplement the recycled water supply.
AG
(2) Premises where recycled water is used, other than
								  as allowed in paragraph (3), and there is no interconnection with the potable water
								  system.
RP
(3) Residences using recycled water for landscape
								  irrigation as part of an approved dual plumbed use area established pursuant to
								  sections 60313 through
								  60316 unless the recycled water
								  supplier obtains approval of the local public water supplier, or the State Water
								  Resources Control Board if the water supplier is also the supplier of the recycled
								  water, to utilize an alternative backflow protection plan that includes an annual
								  inspection and annual shutdown test of the recycled water and potable water systems
								  pursuant to subsection
								  60316(a).
DC
(d) Fire Protection Systems
(1) Premises where the fire system is directly
								  supplied from the public water system and there is an unapproved auxiliary water
								  supply on or to the premises (not interconnected).
DC
(2) Premises where the fire system is supplied from
								  the public water system and interconnected with an unapproved auxiliary water
								  supply. A RP may be provided in lieu of an AG if approved by the health agency and
								  water supplier.
AG
(3) Premises where the fire system is supplied from
								  the public water system and where either elevated storage tanks or fire pumps which
								  take suction from private reservoirs or tanks are used.
DC
(4) Buildings where the fire system is supplied from
								  the public water system and where recycled water is used in a separate piping system
								  within the same building.
DC
(e) Dockside Watering Points and Marine
								  Facilities
(1) Pier hydrants for supplying water to vessels for
								  any purpose.
RP
(2) Premises where there are marine
								  facilities.
RP
(f) Premises where entry is restricted so that
								  inspections for cross-connections cannot be made with sufficient frequency or at
								  sufficiently short notice to assure that they do not exist.
RP
(g) Premises where there is a repeated history of
								  cross-connections being established or re-established.
RP
1. New
						  section filed 5-26-87; operative 6-25-87 (Register 87, No. 23).
2.
						  Editorial correction of first paragraph and Table 1, subsection (d)(1) (Register 95,
						  No. 49).
3. Amendment of section and NOTE filed 11-2-2000; operative
						  12-2-2000 (Register 2000, No. 44).
4. Change without regulatory effect
						  amending subsection (c)(3) and NOTE filed 6-2-2015 pursuant to section
						  100, title 1, California Code of
						  Regulations (Register 2015, No. 23).
Note: Authority cited: Sections
							 116271
							 and
							 116375,
							 Health and Safety Code; and Section
							 13521, Water Code.
							 Reference: Section
							 116375,
							 Health and Safety Code; and Sections
							 13520,
							 13521 and
							 13554(a)(3),
							 Water Code.