What is Backflow Prevention and Why is it important?
Help us with a quick survey? Please raise your hand if you enjoy bathing or drinking wastewater? This is a blog post, so we can’t see if you did raise your hand, but suffice to say nobody raised their hand. And no wonder. Wastewater significantly contributes to ebola, Cryptosporidiosis, and Giardiasis.
You can thank Backflow Preventers for keeping the wastewater out of your home. Or even more simply put, they make sure the water keeps moving in only one direction. But chances are, despite its importance, you did not know that.
So today we wanted to take some time to define what a backflow preventer is, how they are installed, and exactly why they are vital to our everyday life. For more info on Backflow Preventers and Backflow Certification Testing, give us a follow on facebook and instagram!
What does “backflow preventer” even mean?
As the name implies, a backflow preventer is meant to prevent backflow.
Backflow is the any water that flows back into the house after it’s already flushed, drained, or otherwise has been used and left the house. Yes, this technically is also sewage. Or at least something about to join the sewage.
What does a backflow preventer do?
These little devices are used in all kinds of buildings. From massive commercial buildings, to large apartment complexes, all the way to small residential homes. These are typically installed just outside the home or building, or can be near the edge of the property if it’s big enough- like for a school. This occurs during the construction of the building when the plumbing is being installed.
This usually means that backflow inspectors are brought in after the construction to make sure that it was installed correctly. Importantly, backflow inspectors are not responsible to fix or correct any plumbing, just to ensure it’s in proper working order.
Humans have always needed clean water to thrive. But it wasn’t until after the industrial revolution, when humanity really began to explode in population, that more and more people began living in closer proximity to one another. It wasn’t until after World War 1 and its small baby boom that PVBs or Pressure Vacuum Breakers were created as the need for such devices also boomed.
When were backflow preventers invented?
As early as the 1930s1 cities and municipalities like LA were installing backflow preventers. But it wasn’t until 1974 when the Safe Drinking Water Act was passed. This law required all unprotected cross-connections to be protected with a backflow preventer.2
What have we learned today?
And in just under 1,000 words, you were able to learn the very literal definition of Backflow Preventer, its short history, and how important they are to our growing population. For even more information on Backflow Preventer Testing, check out our website: Get training on testing backflow preventers for residential and commercial needs on our Backflow Training Services Registration Page.
1 https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/brief-historical-journey-cross-connection/
2 https://thefloridavillager.com/2023/05/a-brief-and-interesting-history-of-backflow-prevention/#:~:text=And%20in%201974%2C%20the%20Safe,become%20more%20effective%20and%20stringent.