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From the Field
It is a part that keeps water flowing one way. Here is where a home needs one and who tests them.
Short answer: A backflow preventer is a device that stops used or dirty water from flowing backward into your clean water supply.
Water in your pipes normally flows one way: from the supply toward your faucets. Backflow is water flowing the wrong way. The EPA's Cross-Connection Control Manual explains that any two connected systems can flow from the higher pressure side to the lower pressure side. If the pressure on the clean side drops, dirty water can be pulled in.
The EPA separates two causes. Backsiphonage happens when pressure in the supply falls below pressure somewhere else, and it works like sucking on a straw. Backpressure happens when the other system pushes harder than the supply. A cross-connection is any link where clean water and something that is not clean could meet, and the most common one at a home is a garden hose.
A backflow preventer is a part, or an air space, that keeps the flow one way. The EPA manual lists several kinds. These are the ones a homeowner is most likely to meet:
Outdoor faucet dripping or stuck?
Text Ryan a photo of the faucet. He is a licensed Master Plumber and answers his own phone, and he repairs outdoor hose bibs.
A hose left lying in a bucket of fertilizer, a pool or a livestock tank is a classic cross-connection. If the water pressure drops, the water in the hose can run backward into your plumbing. UGA Extension warns never to submerge a hose in anything that could contaminate it, and gives the well version of the risk: if a pump stops while a hose sits in chemicals, the drop in pressure could draw those chemicals into your well.
A hose bibb vacuum breaker is cheap protection. In winter, take hoses off and drain outdoor faucets. We cover that in how to winterize your pipes in North Georgia.
Irrigation is the second common place. The lines run underground, sprinkler heads sit in wet soil, and fertilizer or other chemicals may be injected into the system. If an irrigation line is connected to a well, UGA Extension recommends a double check valve backflow preventer between the well and the irrigation system. On city water, the water system or county often has its own rules for what is required and who may install it, so ask them before you buy anything.
Rules that apply to the water utility are separate from what applies to your yard. Georgia's drinking water rules (391-3-5-.13) say a water supplier must require backflow assemblies it requires to be field tested after installation, repair or relocation, and at least once a year after that, and that the testing must be done by a certified tester. Georgia EPD works with the Georgia Association of Water Professionals on a tester certification program.
Some devices, like double check valves and pressure vacuum breakers, have test points and are checked by a certified tester with a gauge. A simple hose bibb vacuum breaker usually has no test points, so the usual fix is to replace it if it leaks or sticks. If you need a device tested or certified, you need a certified backflow tester, and your water utility can tell you who is on its list. Ryan does not test or certify backflow devices.
Ryan Chastain is a licensed Master Plumber in Ellijay. He repairs outdoor hose bibs, installs fixtures, and works on well pumps and well pressure tanks. If an outdoor faucet drips, will not shut off or has frozen, text him a photo. He gives a free estimate, so you know the price before any work starts.
Not sure whether your faucet already has a vacuum breaker? Many do, built into the faucet body. Ryan can look at it while he is there.
No. A backflow test must be done by a certified tester. Your water utility can tell you who is on its list. Ryan repairs outdoor faucets and does fixture and well work.
Many newer outdoor faucets have one built in. An older faucet may not, and UGA Extension suggests a simple vacuum breaker on each outside faucet. Check the faucet or ask Ryan to look.
UGA Extension recommends a double check valve backflow preventer between a well and an irrigation system. Local rules may add requirements, so check before you install.
Georgia drinking water rules say a water supplier must require required assemblies to be field tested at least yearly by a certified tester. A plain hose bibb vacuum breaker usually has no test points and is replaced when it fails.
Yes. If the pressure drops while a hose sits in a bucket, pool or tank, water can be pulled backward. UGA Extension says never to submerge a hose in anything that could contaminate it.
Call or text Ryan. Free estimate, and you know the price before any work starts.