Although many of us take tap water for granted, the Truckee Meadows Water Authority goes to great lengths to provide you with some of the safest drinking water in the nation.
Besides having state of the art water treatment facilities providing you with clean drinking water, our objective is to protect our water distribution system against the possibility of contamination from cross-connection with a non-potable source.
What is a Cross-Connection
A cross-connection is any connection between a private plumbing system and any source of water not fit for drinking purposes. An example of a cross-connection is an irrigation system that is connected to the plumbing system without a proper backflow prevention assembly. Otherwise, contaminated water from your irrigation system may flow back into your household plumbing if a major water pipe should break.
Enforcement of Backflow Prevention
Like other water purveyors in the State of Nevada, TMWA has been required to implement a backflow prevention program consistent with the Nevada Administrative Code 445A. Excerpts of NAC 445A regarding backflow protection have been selected for a quick reference. You may review TMWA’s Backflow Prevention and Cross-Connection Control Program for further information.
In working with the Washoe County District Health Department, a backflow retrofit program has been developed for both residential and commercial customers. Residential customers present a risk, primarily through inadequate backflow prevention on home irrigation systems. TMWA is working with building departments to ensure that backflow prevention devices on residential irrigation systems are adequately inspected and tested.
Local building departments enforce the plumbing codes that ensure that household plumbing systems, including irrigation systems, are designed and installed to prevent cross-connections.
Policy and Standards
Copies of the Backflow Prevention and Cross-Connection Control Program for Truckee Meadows Water Authority consistent with the Nevada Code and District Health directives can be downloaded from the link on the right.
To obtain backflow construction standards see our backflow construction standards.
Reclaimed Water Sources
With reclaimed water or non-potable water being used more and more in the Truckee Meadows, TMWA is particularly concerned that an unsuspecting homeowner may accidentally connect a home irrigation system to a reclaimed water system, contaminating the community’s water supply.
Please refer to the water and reclaim water separation requirements located in our Engineering & Construction Standard, Section 8, that have been implemented for new residential construction.
