Ottawa has rolled out a backflow prevention program to prevent contaminated water from buildings entering the city’s drinking water system.
Under by-law number 2013-360, the program came into effect January 1, 2018 and is scheduled to roll out over a 10-year period.
It will require premise isolation for all severe and moderate service connections through the installation of premise backflow devices.
About 15,000 industrial, commercial, institutional and multi-residential properties classified as severe or moderate risk for backflow incidents will be impacted.
Properties with severe risks will be addressed by December 2020, and properties with moderate risks by December 2025.
Notification of all property owners will be complete by the end of 2022.
Between 2018 and 2027, based on severity of the hazard, all affected property owners will be required to hire a qualified person to:
- Conduct site surveys every five years to identify risks and report backflow prevention requirements to the city for review.
- Install premise isolation backflow devices.
- Test backflow devices annually and submit results to the city for review.
Qualifications and training needed to conduct site surveys, install backflow devices and test devices are established in the Canadian Standards Association B64.10 standards. www.ottawa.ca
