City of Glendale Cross Connection Control and Backflow Prevention   

To protect the public potable water supply of the city from the possibility of contamination or pollution by preventing the backflow of contamination pollutants into the city public water supply system;       

To promote the elimination or control of existing cross connections, actual or potential, within a customers internal potable water system, plumbing fixtures, industrial piping systems;

To provide a continuing program of cross connection control, and management of a data base to tract all backflow prevention assemblies and notify customers of installation, annual testing, and repair requirements which will prevent the contamination or pollution of the public potable water supply system.    

Description of Program

This program is administered by the Building Safety Department/Cross Connection Control and is responsible for plan review, inspections, retrofit installations, and annual notification of test requirements to comply with both ADEQ and 1994 UPC.

The City of Glendale Cross Connection Control Program consists of compliance with and enforcement of two codes, which include:  

Containment Protection: in compliance with Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) which requires the installation of approved backflow prevention assembly at the water meter.   These assemblies would be required at any facilities that could pose an actual or potential threat to adversely impact the quality of drinking water in the public potable water distribution system.  Once installed the assemblies would not allow any polluted or contaminated water in the onsite water system to backflow into the public potable distribution system.  

Isolation / Point of use Protection: in compliance with 1994 Uniform Plumbing Code (UPC) which required that additional backflow prevention assemblies shall be installed within the onsite water system, at the point of connection to any piece of equipment, plumbing fixture, devise, or any type of installation that may provide a possibility of polluting such water supply.   Two major goals are accomplished by this type of combination program: 1) Protection of the public potable water distribution system from hazards located on a water customer’s premises; and, 2) Protection of the public using any internal/onsite water facilities, supplied by the onsite water system. 

Safeguarding Our Public Drinking Water System

The City of Glendale is responsible for delivering quality water to its customer's water meter. The water we supply must meet Federal and State drinking water standards. This is why the City of Glendale is required to safeguard its system. Once drinking water is delivered to a customer, it cannot flow back into the public water supply. Backflow prevention assemblies, if properly installed and maintained, allow water to flow in only one direction. Water can flow from the public water system to the customer's property, but not in the other direction.

As a result of these new Federal and State mandates, many commercial, industrial, and residential customers are now required to install and maintain backflow prevention assemblies. Glendale will specify which customers must comply with these requirements, and the periodic testing of the assemblies once installed. The water customer is responsible for installing and maintaining these assemblies.

The reason for this requirement is simple -- the customer expects and receives a clean, constant supply of drinking water. Should a customer's water system become contaminated, the City of Glendale must protect its other customers from the contaminants that may find their way back through the system. The extra cost and inconvenience involved in installing and maintaining these assemblies is necessary to ensure safe drinking water to all customers.

The importance of backflow prevention must not be taken lightly. The integrity of the city of Glendale's entire drinking water system could be affected. If you have any questions regarding backflow prevention, please contact Steve Ruffing, Senior Cross Connection Control Specialist, at
(623)930-3147.