Clear, actionable policies protect your water system and the people who depend on it. But as a water jurisdiction professional or design engineer, you know the reality: writing guidelines and policies can be time-consuming and frustrating, especially when there’s no standard framework to follow.
This challenge is especially evident when it comes to backflow prevention. Despite the risks posed by substandard or outdated installations, many municipalities lack the modern standard details needed to guide safe, efficient designs.
We meet with water authority officials from across the country on a regular basis. Regardless of location, there’s widespread uncertainty about where and how these assemblies should be installed, particularly when balancing safety, accessibility and long-term maintenance.
That’s where Safe-T-Cover can help. We’ve developed a guide that has pre-built CAD templates for many common scenarios. Get the guide here and read on to see why standard details matter so much for safe drinking water and protecting natural resources.
Backflow assemblies protect the public water supply from contaminants caused by backpressure or backsiphonage. When these devices are installed below ground or indoors — practices still common in many areas — they introduce real risks to the water quality and water systems:
Strong policies can steer municipalities away from these outdated practices and toward safer, above-ground solutions that prioritize health, safety and efficiency.
Although the safety of our public water systems has come a long way since the Safe Drinking Water Act of 1974, the regulatory framework remains complex.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issues guidelines for public water systems, which states are expected to enforce. Those states then oversee water purveyors and local municipalities, each of which must adopt and implement the policies.
Because backflow prevention wasn’t explicitly outlined in the original federal law, responsibility for cross-connection control often falls into gray areas. To uphold safe drinking water standards, public water suppliers have rules and regulations. It makes sense that the equipment responsible for protecting this water quality should, too.
Unfortunately, there are common issues across jurisdictions:
Without clear, updated policies, even well-intentioned jurisdictions may unintentionally allow unsafe or non-compliant installations. Clean tap water ultimately depends on each local authority adopting and enforcing the right standards to protect public health.
When municipalities include clear, modern standard details in their specifications, the benefits ripple across the board:
In short, strong guidelines ensure consistent, safe and efficient installations and eliminate the risks associated with underground vault installs.
If your jurisdiction doesn’t yet have standard details for above-ground backflow assemblies, you don’t have to start from scratch.
Safe-T-Cover has developed a comprehensive Standard Details Guide based on years of collaboration with water authorities across the country. This resource walks you through the critical components of a successful policy, including:
It’s more than just a guide. It’s a proven framework and the assistance you need to write, revise or reinforce policies that actually work.
Download the Standard Details Guide now and start building safer, smarter aluminum enclosures for water equipment.