City of Ottawa Backflow Prevention
Your Questions Answered
As you may know, the City of Ottawa has updated their Backflow Prevention Program to further protect citizens from contaminated water. The program will help ensure public safety and the long-term safety of our shared water resource. As we approach the one year anniversary of the passing of the Backflow Prevention Program, we wanted to provide a resource that would help educate our clients and the general public on compliance with the program.
What is backflow anyways?
Water backflow is the unwanted travelling of water between a municipal distribution system and the private water system of a building. The backflow of water can create the risk of contaminated drinking water for residents. Backflow is caused when one side of the system, either the distribution side or the private side, has a lower pressure than the other. This pressure difference can be regulated using a backflow prevention device. If you’ve been contacted by the City, you’re going to need to install this device.
How does this affect me?
The City of Ottawa Backflow Prevention Program only affects buildings that may pose a threat to the safety of our drinking water. Single, residential properties are not affected. Some examples of the types of facilities posing an increased risk to public drinking water include but are not limited to manufacturing and automotive repair facilities, hospitals and dental surgery facilities. Properties that pose a moderate risk include but are not limited to apartments, hotels, motels and schools. The program will address moderate risks from multi-residential buildings that are over three stories or have a footprint over 600 m2 (or 6,458 ft2).
What must I do?
If you are a property owner who is affected by the Backflow Prevention Program, you’ve already been contacted by the City. You will need to hire qualified personnel such as Alliance Engineering to help ensure compliance and thus, the safety of your community. We will conduct site surveys every five years to identify risks and report backflow prevention requirements to the City for review. We will also install premise isolation backflow devices to prevent contaminants from entering the City’s water supply. This device will be in the form of either a Reduced Pressure Principle Assembly (RP) for “severe hazard” facilities or a Double Check Valve Assembly (DCVA) for “moderate hazard” facilities. In addition, we will test backflow devices every year to make sure that they are functioning properly and submit the test results to the City for review.
Why hire Alliance?
Alliance Engineering can provide the personnel required by the City for the surveying, installation and testing of your backflow prevention system. Our engineers have many years of experience in providing the type of site survey required by the City for the program. Our licensed plumbers are Certified Cross Connection Control Specialists as per the Ontario Water Works Association, and are experienced in installing blackflow prevention devices. Our qualified testers are registered with Backflow Solutions Inc. (BSI) Online, and submit annual calibration test data for testing equipment. We are trusted to survey, install and test backflow systems in Ottawa, and are happy to provide a specific quote for your compliance needs.
Please contact us today for a backflow prevention quote.
