(a) Water System.
(1) The water system shall be considered as made up of two parts: the utility system and the customer system.
(2) The utility system shall consist of the source facilities and the distribution system and shall include all those facilities of the water system under the complete control of the utility, up to the point where the customer’s system begins.
(3) The source shall include all components of the facilities utilized in the production, treatment, storage, and delivery of water to the distribution system.
(4) The distribution system shall include the network of conduits used for the delivery of water from the source to the customer’s system.
(5) The customer’s system shall include those parts of the facilities beyond the termination of the utility distribution system that are utilized in conveying utility delivered domestic water to points of use.
(b) Policy.
(1) No water service connection to any premises shall be installed or maintained by the water purveyor unless the water supply is protected as required by state/provincial laws and regulations and the ordinance codified in this chapter. Cross-connection protection requirements shall be as specified in Title 17 of the California Code of Regulations Sections 7583 through 7605, and latest versions and updates to the California Code of Regulations. Compliance with the California Code of Regulations in all matters concerning the purchase, testing and installation of cross-connection protection is the responsibility of the water user. Service of water to any premises shall be discontinued by the water purveyor if a backflow-prevention assembly required by the ordinance codified in this chapter is not installed, tested, and maintained, or if it is found that a backflow-prevention assembly has been removed, bypassed, or if an unprotected cross-connection exists on the premises. Service will not be restored until such conditions or defects are corrected.
(2) The customer’s system should be open for inspection at all reasonable times to authorized representatives of the City of San Juan Capistrano to determine whether cross-connections or other structural or sanitary hazards, including violations of these regulations, exist. When such a condition becomes known, the Director of Public Works may deny or immediately discontinue service to the premises by providing for a physical break in the service line until the customer has corrected the condition(s) in conformance with State/provincial and city statutes relating to plumbing and water supplies and the regulations adopted pursuant thereto.
(3) An approved backflow-prevention assembly shall be installed on each service line to a customer’s water system at or near the property line, in all cases before the first branch line leading off the service line wherever the following conditions exist:
(4) In the case of premises having an auxiliary water supply that is not or may not be of safe bacteriological or chemical quality and that is not acceptable as an additional source by the Director of Public Works, the public water system shall be protected against backflow from the premises by installing an approved backflow-prevention assembly in the service line, appropriate to the degree of hazard.
(5) In the case of premises on which any industrial fluids or any other objectionable substances are handled in such a fashion as to create an actual or potential hazard to the public water system, the public system shall be protected against backflow from the premises by installing an approved backflow-prevention assembly in the service line, appropriate to the degree of hazard. This shall include the handling of process waters and waters originating from the utility system that have been subject to deterioration in quality.
(6) In the case of premises having (1) internal cross-connections that cannot be permanently corrected and controlled, or (2) intricate plumbing and piping arrangements or where entry to all portions of the premises is not readily accessible for inspection purposes, making it impracticable or impossible to ascertain whether or not dangerous cross-connections exist, the public water system shall be protected against backflow from the premises by installing an approved backflow-prevention assembly in the service line.
(7) The type of protective assembly required under Sections 6-11.03(b)(4), 6-11.03(b)(5), and 6-11.03(b)(6) shall depend upon the degree of hazard that exists as follows:
(8) In the case of any premises where there is an auxiliary water supply as stated in subsection 6-11.03(b)(4) of this section and it is not subject to any of the following rules, the public water system shall be protected by an approved air-gap separation or an approved reduced-pressure principle backflow-prevention assembly.
(9) In the case of any premises where there is water or substance that would be objectionable but not hazardous to health, if introduced into the public water system, an approved double check valve assembly shall protect the public water system or a reduced pressure principle assembly as approved by the City.
(10) In the case of any premises where there is any material dangerous to health that is handled in such a fashion as to create an actual or potential hazard to the public water system, the public water system shall be protected by an approved air-gap separation or an approved reduced-pressure principle backflow-prevention assembly. Examples of premises where these conditions will exist include sewage treatment plants, sewage pumping stations, chemical manufacturing plants, hospitals, mortuaries, and plating plants.
(11) In the case of any premises where there are "uncontrolled" cross-connections, either actual or potential, the public water system shall be protected by an approved air-gap separation or an approved reduced-pressure principle backflow-prevention assembly at the service connection.
(12) In the case of any premises where, because of security requirements or other prohibitions or restrictions, it is impossible or impractical to make a complete in-plant cross-connection survey, the public water system shall be protected against backflow from the premises by either an approved air-gap separation or an approved reduced-pressure principle backflow-prevention assembly on each service to the premises.
(13) In the case of any premises where, in the opinion of the Director of Public Works, an undue health threat is posed because of the presence of extremely toxic substances, the Director of Public Works may require an air gap at the service connection to protect the public water system. This requirement will be at the discretion of the Director of Public Works and is dependent on the degree of hazard.
(14) Any backflow-prevention assembly required herein will be of a model and size approved by the California Department of Health Services (DHS). The term "approved backflow-prevention assembly" shall mean an assembly that has been manufactured in full conformance with the standards established by the DHS for backflow prevention assemblies. A "certificate of approval" issued by an approved testing laboratory certifying full compliance with said DHS referenced specifications shall evidence final approval. Testing laboratories, other than the laboratories listed by the DHS, will not be accepted. A list of DHS approved assemblies and testing laboratories is available at the City of Juan Capistrano, Department of Public Works.
(15) It shall be the duty of the customer at any premises where backflow-prevention assemblies are installed to have certified inspections and operational tests made at the time of installation and at least annually thereafter. In those instances where the Director of Public Works deems the hazard to be great enough, certified inspections might be required at more frequent intervals. These inspections and tests shall be at the expense of the water user and shall be performed by the assembly manufacturer’s representative, water department personnel, or by a certified tester approved by the DHS. The customer shall notify the Director of Public Works in advance when the tests are to be undertaken so that the Director of Public Works may witness the tests if so desired These assemblies shall be repaired, overhauled, or replaced at the expense of the customer whenever said assemblies are found to be defective. The test results shall be provided to the City of San Juan Capistrano within thirty (30) days of receipt of a testing notification. Records of such tests, repairs, and overhaul shall be kept and made available to the Director of Public Works. No backflow assembly shall be removed, replaced or relocated without the approval of the City.
(16) All presently installed backflow-prevention assemblies that do not meet the requirements of this section but were approved assemblies for the purpose described herein at the time of installation and that have been properly maintained, shall, except for the inspection and maintenance requirements under Section 6-11.03(b)(3), be excluded from the requirements of these rules so long as the Director of Public Works is assured that they will satisfactorily protect the utility system. Whenever the existing assembly is moved from the present location, requires more than minimum maintenance, or when the Director of Public Works finds that the maintenance constitutes a hazard to health, the unit shall be replaced by an approved backflow-prevention assembly meeting the requirements of this section. (§ 1, Ord. 895)