Publicly owned buildings are definitely compliant with local cross-connection control requirements…right? Not exactly. The data tells a different, often concerning, story.
Public buildings contain myriad interconnections, including high-hazard ones, that expose employees and community members alike to serious risk. An uninspected facility almost always hides unprotected cross-connections. In the case of a backflow event, that means drinking water contamination and the health, safety, and reputational consequences that come along with it.
Compliance Insights: Building a Defensible Cross-Connection Control Program
Public Buildings & Schools
Cross-Connection Risks in Public Facilities
The first service connections every utility should survey as part of their cross-connection control efforts are public buildings: First and foremost, get your own house (AKA your publicly owned facilities) in order and secure from the threat of backflow.
Public facilities run the gamut as far as size, use, degree of hazard, and, of course, variety of potable water connections. Most communities manage city hall and other government buildings, schools, fire stations, parks, recreation centers, libraries, public pools, and more.
Hazards crop up anywhere that potable water systems are connected to hazardous substances like chemicals and process water. In public buildings, we frequently find hazards in:
- Mechanical rooms
- Maintenance shops
- Irrigation systems
- Janitorial closets and sinks
The Surveying Solution
Most utilities have annual backflow tests covered—at least, for the backflow prevention assemblies they know about. But surveying addresses a wider set of problems, including identifying previously unknown or undocumented assemblies; documented but untested assemblies; unprotected cross-connections where new assemblies must be installed; and abandoned piping or dead legs that create contamination risks.
If your utility consistently surveys public buildings to uncover and correct these risks, you’ll be ready for sanitary surveys conducted by the state, which often include close inspection of publicly owned facilities. Sanitary surveyors will look for:
- Proper containment protection
- Isolation protection at high-hazard facilities
- Correct installation of backflow prevention assemblies and visible air gaps
- Protection at hose connections and chemical feeds
- Up-to-date testing records and accurate facility documentation
- Evidence of surveys and corrective actions for identified deficiencies
The best way to gather the data you need to 1) make sure public buildings don’t present a backflow risk to your utility and 2) prepare for sanitary surveys is to go beyond containment backflow prevention and survey inside these facilities. Look at all potable water piping connections and create a detailed record of what risks and backflow preventers exist at every service connection.
What to Look for & Where
The potable water connections in publicly owned facilities are plentiful and vary widely. Start in schools and other outward facing facilities that serve vulnerable populations before working your way through the rest of your community’s publicly managed service connections.
- School science labs contain connections including aspirators, chemical dispensers, vacuum pumps, and distillation equipment.
- School and other facility kitchens may contain chemical dispensers, dishwashers, steam kettles, ice machines, and carbonation machines.
- Boiler rooms contain chemical feed systems, water softeners, heat exchangers, and make-up water.
- Janitorial closets, which are prevalent across publicly owned buildings including schools, contain chemical mixing stations, janitorial sink hose connections, and power washer systems.
- Irrigation systems on public properties such as parks, athletic fields, and at boulevards or roundabouts may contain fertilizer injections or other high-hazard configurations.
- Pools and splash pads contain chemical feed systems, backwash systems, pool fill piping, and maintenance hose bibbs.
- Public works buildings contain wash stations, bulk water loading, street sweepers, power washers, hose reels, and sewer vac trucks.
Are the Public Buildings in Your Community Really Protected?
Think back on the initial question: Do you know for sure that your community’s publicly owned buildings are protected from cross-connections?
When partnering with a Minnesota utility, HydroCorp surveyed 37 municipal-owned facilities. The community felt confident that the surveys would identify few, if any, deficiencies. The reality we found didn’t meet those expectations: Surveyors documented 48 total violations, including 24 high-hazard violations.
Even well-managed public buildings contain undocumented hazards that can only be uncovered by on-site surveys. If you look for cross-connections, you’ll find them. And publicly owned facilities are a good place to start.
Ready to learn more about how HydroCorp can support your utility’s cross-connection control program?
