In healthcare, protecting your potable water supply isn’t optional—it’s critical for patient and employee safety. Yet many hospitals overlook one of the most preventable risks to their water systems: unprotected cross connections.
In March 2025, a major U.S. hospital took a proactive step and commissioned HydroCorp to complete a full cross-connection control survey across its 20-acre campus. What they found was eye-opening—312 unprotected cross connections and corrective action items that posed serious risk to patients, staff, and operations.
What Are Cross Connections—and Why Do They Matter?
A cross connection is any point in a plumbing system where non-potable water could mix with potable water. Without proper backflow prevention, contaminants can flow backward into clean water lines due to pressure changes—causing potential exposure to chemicals, bacteria, or worse.
In hospitals, the stakes are higher. From operating suites to sterilization equipment to potable water used directly in patient care, even a slight lapse in water protection can lead to serious health consequences.
What the Survey Revealed
On-site, the HydroCorp team surveyed the entirety of the facility’s piping systems, visually tracing the pipes and recording at-risk areas, improper system design, and requirements for improved compliance and safety. The survey identified:
- 259 needed backflow prevention installations, including 36 testable assemblies and 223 devices/methods;
- 53 additional corrective issues, like improperly plumbed equipment and improper pipe labeling;
- High-risk zones—including patient care and mechanical areas—that lacked basic protections;
- And no formal cross-connection control program or maintenance tracking system in place.
The overall outlook? The facility carried a high-risk of backflow events and contamination that could jeopardize their operations—putting patients in harm’s way. Besides the obvious safety implications, unaddressed cross connections also create:
- Regulatory compliance risks
- Legal liability exposure in case of contamination
- Operational disruptions during emergency remediation
- Barriers to effective Legionella water management programs
That means healthcare facilities without cross-connection control efforts assume risk far beyond contamination, including to their accreditation status, operational uptime, and financial culpability.
What Hospitals Should Do
Hospitals should view cross-connection control surveys as essential, not optional. A solid water protection plan includes:
- Routine cross-connection control surveys every 3-5 years
- Proper backflow prevention applications at all high-risk points
- Maintenance tracking systems to ensure backflow prevention assemblies are tested as required and corrective actions are completed
- Staff training
- Proper labeling of all piping
If your facility hasn’t undergone a recent cross-connection control survey, now is the time. Prevention is always cheaper—and safer—than crisis response.
Ready to learn more about how HydroCorp can support your hospital’s cross-connection control needs?
