Cross Connection Control
The City of Greeley’s Backflow Prevention and Cross-Connection Control Program is designed to ensure safeguards are in place to protect the city’s drinking water supply.
What is Cross Connection and Backflow?
A cross-connection is any connection to the drinking water system that could introduce pesticides, fertilizers, used water, fluids, gasses, or anything else into the treated water distribution system.
Cross connections can occur due to backpressure or back-siphonage, which together are types of backflow. Backflow is the reversed flow of contaminated water or other liquids into the drinking water system.
Backflow by back-siphonage
Backflow by back-siphonage occurs when a partial vacuum causes the water flow to reverse, and contaminants are siphoned or sucked into the drinking water system. The effect is similar to drinking from a straw.
Backflow by backpressure
Backflow by backpressure occurs when contaminants under pressures greater than those in the drinking water system are pushed into drinking water.
Possible Sources of Cross-Contamination
- Irrigation systems
- Fertilizer injection systems
- Hoses connected to chemical spray bottles
- Chemicals in water beds, hot tubs, swimming pools, water features, aquariums, fountains, in-home water treatment systems, solar heating systems, and swamp coolers
- Commercial and industrial cooling systems,
- Boilers
- Solvents, and Chemicals used in manufacturing processes,
- Liquid storage tanks
- Waste disposal systems
- Fire sprinkler systems
How Backflow Can Happen
Backflow Preventers: Why Are They Important?
A backflow preventer is a device designed to prevent water from flowing backward into the public water supply system. It ensures that contaminated water from various sources, such as lawn irrigation systems, fire sprinkler systems, heating and cooling systems, industrial systems, medical systems, or swimming pools, does not mix with the clean, potable water supply.
City of Greeley Backflow Reporting System
The City of Greeley recently launched a backflow reporting system which offers great benefits, including a user-friendly portal and FREE certificate uploads. All backflow customers need to create a new account in Spry Backflow.