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I n s i d e C r o s s T a l kManual Update • EPA Project

New Members • Certification vs Training • 10th Edition Tools

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EPA Project onHousehold Cross-Connections

Certification vsTraining

Q uestions about backflowprevention assembly tester train-ing and certification are oftenbrought up to the Foundationoffice. These are two differentprocesses and largely administeredby different organizations.

Certification

In the United States, there iscurrently no Federal certificationprogram or requirement to becertified by any particular organi-zation to test backflow preventionassemblies. This decision hasbeen left to state or local control.

In California, for example, there isno statewide requirement to becertified by any particular organi-zation to test backflow preventionassemblies. State regulations statethat, “backflow preventers shall betested by persons who have dem-onstrated their competency intesting of these devices to thewater supplier or health agency.”In practical terms this has led tolocal certification programs beingadministered by or adopted by thecounty health department.

There are some administrativeauthorities across the UnitedStates that have a responsibility tosee that those individuals testingin their particular jurisdiction are

he Foundation received agrant in 2001 from the UnitedStates Environmental ProtectionAgency to assess the prevalence ofcross-connections in householdplumbing systems. The Founda-tion has finished the surveys and iscurrently preparing the final reportfor this project.

The information obtained by theFoundation survey team will beadded to a database created at theUniversity of California at Berke-ley. Researchers at Berkeley havebeen tracking illnesses in homeswhich had either an actual watertreatment unit or a placebo watertreatment unit installed. Thecross-connection survey results will

T he Foundation’s Membership Program provides many benefits to the Membersof the Foundation. These include: twenty percent discount on Foundation Trainingcourses for any employee of the Member company/organization, the List of ApprovedBackflow Prevention Assemblies, printed quarterly, and access to the up-to-the-minuteversion of the List for those Members with Internet access.

Members are encouraged to call the Foundation with technical questions. TheFoundation’s Engineering Staff is available to assist Members with the variousaspects of field testing backflow preventers, installing backflow preventers andadministering their cross-connection control program.

Cross Talk is published by the Foundation for Cross-Connection Controland Hydraulic Research at the University of Southern California for Foun-dation Members. Limited additional copies are available to Membersupon request. 2003 © University of Southern California.All rights reserved.Tw

o

Foundation Membership

Contacting theFoundation

Mailing Address:Foundation for Cross-Connection Control andHydraulic ResearchUniversity ofSouthern CaliforniaKaprielian Hall 200Los Angeles, CA 90089-2531

Phone:866 545 6340 Toll Free213 740 2032

FAX:213 740 8399

e-mail:fccchr@usc.edu

Web Site:www.usc.edu/fccchr

The Foundation acceptsPurchase Orders via mail orfax and credit card orders(Visa, MasterCard, Discover)via telephone and the Web.

Advanced Irrigation

Advanced Operator Short Schools

Alta Loma Plumbing

Arbon, David

Atascadero Mutual Water Company

BPMS

Backflow Consulting, Testing & Repair

Bryan Water Services, City of

C-H Educational Services

Casper College

Davis Plumbing

EMI Korea Co.

Fetzer Vineyards

Flour Hanford, Inc.

Kent, City of

O’Connor Sales, Inc.

O’Hagan Corporation

On-Site Testing

Oracle Environmental

Patterson, City of

Pinel Plumbing

Purdy McGuire

Santa Cruz, City of

The Clark Construction Group

Vic’s Plumbing Co.

Weston & Sampson Services

Wyoming Association of Rural Water

Three

Manual Update

indeed qualified, but do not wishto administer an entire programthemselves. Many times theseorganizations will put forth a policystatement that will outline what itaccepts as being sufficient qualifi-cations to test backflow preventionassemblies. This may be in theform of accepting certification froma third party such as the AmericanBackflow Prevention Association orthe American Water Works Asso-ciation. The administrative author-ity may require the tester to betested directly by the administra-tive authority in the form of awritten and/or performance exami-nation.

Whether administered by anadministrative authority or a thirdparty, most any certification pro-gram will require a certain amountof training which is acceptable tothe certifying body. This trainingwill meet certain minimum criteriaof the certifying body. Anotherimportant aspect of a certificationprogram is re-certification. Re-certification, usually required everytwo or three years, ensures that thebackflow prevention assemblytester maintains the skills andqualifications necessary to testbackflow prevention assemblies.Re-certification is a process, whichtypically includes not only a feepayment, but also a written examand a performance exam. Somecertifying bodies may also requireapplicants attend a certain amountof training or education in the formof update seminars.

Certification vsTrainingcontinued from page one

Whether adminis-

tered by an ad-

ministrative au-

thority or a third

party, most any

certification pro-

gram will require

a certain amount

of training...

continued on page six continued on page seven

T he Manual Review Com-mittee for the Tenth Edition of theManual of Cross-Connection Controlis entering the final stages in theprocess leading towards the publi-cation of the Tenth Edition. Thefinal timeline has been set andpublication of the Tenth Edition isdue on 1 January 2004.

The Manual Review Committeeand the Foundation Staff still havemuch to do to get the Manualready for publication, but the majordecisions have been made and thedetails of wording are beingworked out for several sections ofthe Manual at this time. Shouldany Member of the Foundationhave any comments or recommen-dations for the Tenth Edition ofthe Manual, now would be thetime to send comments to theFoundation Office. Comments canalso be sent to the Manual ReviewCommittee via the Web at:http://www.usc.edu/fccchr/mrc/comments.html.

A summary of each of the meetingsmay be found on the MRC websiteat: http://www.usc.edu/fccchr/mrc/,but one of the major changes ishighlighted here.

New Assemblies

The MRC is working on and hasagreed to publish specifications forthe DCDA-II and the RPDA-II.These are double check detectorassemblies and reduced pressureprinciple detector assemblies with

Fou

r

The surveys indi-

cated that 9.6%

of the homes

were found to

have direct cross-

connections to a

health hazard.

continued on page seven

EPA Projectcontinued from page one

be factored into the data to deter-mine if illnesses may be attributedto cross-connections.

On-site surveys were conducted in188 homes in the US Mid West.The data was analyzed to deter-mine how many cross-connectionsexisted in the homes. Additionally,it was determined if the cross-connections were direct or indirectand if the cross-connection consti-tuted a health hazard or a non-health hazard.

A survey form was created to makethe data collection simple andconsistent so that the USC Re-search Team analyzing the datawould provide consistent andaccurateresults.TheFieldOpera-tionsManager(FOM)for thisprojectwas acontractorwho hadbeen trainedat one of theFoundation’s Course for the Trainingof Cross-Connection Control ProgramSpecialists. The FOM was alsoinvolved in several discussionsbefore the surveys took place toensure that the data collected wastransmitted to the USC ResearchTeam in a manner that was under-stood with minimal ambiguity.The Foundation’s Quality Assur-

ance Manager (QAM) for thisproject accompanied the FOM forthe first several surveys to ensureconsistency in data recording.Additionally, about half waythrough the project, the QAMagain accompanied the FOM onseveral surveys to ensure qualitycontrol.

As the Survey Forms were re-turned to the Foundation, threeseparate members of the USCResearch Team independentlyanalyzed the Survey Forms todetermine how many water con-nections there were in each ofseveral categories (e.g., kitchen,laundry, hose bibs, sewage system,irr igation systems, etc.)

Those assess-ing thesurvey formsalso deter-mined howmany ofthe waterconnec-tions wereprotectedandmade adetermi-

nation ofthe degree of hazard at the

residence as well as determiningwhether the cross-connectionsconstituted direct or indirect cross-connections.

The surveys indicated that 9.6% ofthe homes were found to havedirect cross-connections to a healthhazard. On average, 73% of wateruse was unprotected, constitutingcross-connections. Only 4.3% ofthe homes had either no unpro-

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continued on page six

Coming Soon: 10thEdition Tools

ith the arrival of the10th Edition of the Manual ofCross-Connection Control, the Foun-dation is lining up several newtools and is improving on others tobring its members the informationneeded to succeed in the cross-connection industry.

One of several new tools is theaddition of aninteractiveCD-ROMthat will beincluded inevery copy ofthe 10theditionManual. TheCD-ROMwill include‘field forms,’3D animationand a search-able databaseof cross-connection incidents inpast years. The ‘field forms’section will include sample letters,installation guidelines and a modelordinance. All forms will beinteractive and available in PDF(Adobe Acrobat) format.

In addition to adding an interac-tive CD-ROM to the line oftraining tools, the Foundation isplanning to release a new FieldTesting Backflow Preventers Instruc-tional Video. The instructionalvideo will be available in DVDformat and will include state-of-the-art 3D animation. The DVD

Wwill include‘chapter’menus, allow-ing the viewerto skip be-tween thedifferentassemblies(DC, RP, PVB,SVB) instantly. The DVD for-mat will allow the Foundation toadd ‘Special Features’ to helptesters more effectively.

The Foundation will also beupdating the Essentialsof Cross-ConnectionControl presentation.Currently, the presen-tation is available in35mm slides and CD-ROM, but beginningnext year the presenta-tion will only beavailable inPowerPoint format ona CD-ROM as aninteractive presenta-tion. The new presen-tation will include all

new computer graphics and 3Danimation.

With several new and improvedtraining tools, theFoundation willalso update theWorking Togetherfor Safe Waterinformationalbrochure.Designed tointroduce thebasic concepts ofbackflow and cross-connectioncontrol to the public, the brochure

The Foundation’s

goal is to use

today’s technology

to bring the

most relevant

information in

cross-connection

control.

Six

Certification vsTrainingcontinued from page three

Training in and of

itself does not

constitute

certification.

Training is merely

the means by

which individuals

gain the

necessary

knowledge and

skills...

Training

Training is an important part of anycross-connection control program.It is also a necessary component ofcertification.

Training in and of itself does notconstitute certification. Training ismerely the means by which indi-viduals gain the necessary knowl-edge and skills to test and trouble-shoot backflow prevention assem-blies. Although training coursesvary in their content, most trainingcourses will consist of lecturescovering various basics, such ashydraulics, how backflow occurs,responsibilities of the tester, theadministrative authorities’ role andthe actual field test procedures fortesting backflow preventers.

The Foundation’s courses spendthe vast majority of the time on theactual field test procedures. Thestudents are provided the opportu-nity to work with each of thebackflow preventers covered: thedouble check valve assembly, thereduced pressure principle assem-bly, the pressure vacuum breakerassembly and the spill-resistantvacuum breaker assembly. Eachstudent has an assembly in front ofthem the first time they learn theprocedure so they can follow alongwith the instructor step by step andtest the assembly themselves.There are plenty of assemblies andgages to allow the students ampleopportunity to practice the fieldtest procedures throughout theweek. The Foundation’s courses

are five-day courses allowing thestudent the opportunity to com-plete the necessary training duringone workweek. There are manyother courses offered in differentregions in a five-day format similarto the Foundation. Other coursesare offered over time, usually asemester at a community or tradecollege. Regardless of the durationof the course or the location, it isimportant that the student getsplenty of time to physically workwith the assemblies and practicethe correct field test procedures.Although quality training is anecessary part of a certificationprogram, a certification programmust accompany training in orderto ensure that the testers continueto keep their skills current.

As an overview, training teachesthe testers the skills they need totest backflow prevention assem-blies and certification demon-strates they have adequatelyacquired those skills and ensuresthey will retain them through re-certification. �

will include new graphics and up-to-date information.

The Foundation’s goal is to usetoday’s technology to bring themost relevant information in cross-connection control to those whoneed it most, allowing the every-day ‘tester’ or ‘specialist’ to bekept up-to-date and at the sametime have its new training toolsaccessible to everyone. �

Coming Soon: 10thEdition Toolscontinued from page five

Six

Seve

n

continued from page four

Although there

were a large

number of cross-

connections,

many of these

could be abated

without much

expense or effort.

Manual Update

tected cross-connections or hadunprotected cross-connections to anon-hazardous substance. Homeswith a cross-connection (eitherdirect or indirect) to a healthhazard constituted 95.7% of thehomes. Although this is a largepercentage, the greatest concernwas with the 9.6% of the homeshaving a direct cross-connection toa health hazard. In most cases,these cross-connections were dueto improperly plumbed toiletfixtures, or specific toilet fixtureswhich could create a backpressuresituation and force hazardous waterfrom the toilet tank into the drink-ing water supply. 91% of thehomes contained unprotected hosebibs, which are considered anindirect cross-connection to ahealth hazard. 61% of the homescontained unprotected cross-connections involving the toiletswith 8.8% of these being directcross-connections. Cross-Connec-tions to tanks, vats or water soften-ers were found in 5.9% of thehomes. Of these, 18.2% weredirect cross-connections to healthhazards. Unprotected cross-con-nections to health hazards withinthe heating/cooling system werediscovered in 43.6% of the homes.

Although there were a large num-ber of cross-connections, many ofthese could be abated withoutmuch expense or effort. Forexample, most of the cross-connec-tions would be protected if hosebib vacuum breakers were installedand properly listed fixtures wereinstalled in the toilets. Still with-out these simple corrections, there

remain a substantial number ofcross-connections in these homes.Most of the residents were com-pletely unaware of what cross-connections were or what could bedone to prevent them. When theon-site survey was conducted, theresidents were given a brochuredescribing typical household cross-connections and what could bedone to abate them.

It would appear that further studywould be needed to get a betteroverall picture of household cross-connections. In this particularlocation there were no fire sprin-kler systems, only a few irrigationsystems and no pools or spas.Additionally, the average age of thehomes was just under fifty yearsold.

Even without further study, how-ever, it is evident that better publiceducation is necessary. Publiceducation for the homeowner orresident would go a long way inhelping to reduce the problem ofcross-connections in the home. �

EPA Project

a single check and meter includedin a by-pass line around the secondcheck. The level of backflowprotection will remain the same aswith the current DCDA andRPDA but the by-pass meter(along with a check valve) bypass-ing only the second check valvewill allow for the assembly to havea lower overall pressure loss. �

continued from page three

Training Courses

Tester Course

Los Angeles, CA14-18 July 2003

Kauai, HI18-22 August 2003

Los Angeles, CA12-16 January 2004

Los Angeles, CA17-21 May 2004

Specialist Course

Los Angeles, CAJuly 28- Aug. 1 2003

Iowa City, IA3-7 November 2003

Los Angeles, CA26-30 January 2004

Foundation for Cross-ConnectionControl and Hydraulic ResearchSchool of Engineering

University of Southern CaliforniaKaprielian Hall 200Los Angeles, California 90089-2531

Upcoming Events

First ClassUS Postage PAID

University ofSouthern California

AWWA- Annual Conference•Anaheim, CA

15-19 June 2003

Inland County BackflowGroup- Seminar•San Bernardino, CA

10 Sept. 2003

ABPA- Western RegionBackflow Conference•Las Vegas, NV

29 Sept.- 1 Oct. 2003

ABPA- Annual Conference•Long Beach, CA

9-12 May 2004