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Sun City Residents Say There's No Need For Backflow Device
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Published: August 24, 2008
TAMPA - It's ugly, expensive and goes right in front of your house where everyone can see it.
But you're required to buy a backflow prevention device if you irrigate your yard with water from a well, pond or lake. The devices, which can cost $600 or more to install, prevent untreated water from contaminating the public drinking water system.
Most homeowners gripe about the expense but pay for the backflow protection. But when Hillsborough County recently issued 14 citations to residents in the North Lake neighborhood of Sun City, it triggered a revolt. The citations can lead to $150 fines if the residents refuse to get the backflow protection.
Led by Sun City retiree Dave Brown, the angry residents argued their lake-fed irrigation systems posed no threat to the county water system.
"In Hillsborough County, there has never been a single reported incident of back-flow contamination that made anybody sick," Brown said.
Brown and the other residents won a victory of sorts Wednesday when the county water department agreed to delay enforcement of the backflow protection ordinance for up to a year. The delay must be OK'd by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, which is not a certainty.
"The question is what the state will allow us to do," said Bart Weiss, administrator of the Hillsborough water resource team. "If they're going to fine us for not adhering to the law, we've got to figure out if that's a smart thing to do."
Water department director Paul Vanderploog said he decided to ask for the delay after Palm Beach County asked DEP to review the law. The Palm Beach authorities say less-expensive back-flow devices can prevent cross contamination.
New homeowners usually have to buy the valves when the city or county turns on the water and discovers an auxiliary water supply. In other cases, the city or county finds out about the lake or well connections through complaints from neighbors.
The state now requires homes with auxiliary water supplies to get the more expensive backflow devices, called "reduced pressure principal assemblies." These "RPs" consist of a pipe and valves sticking out of a concrete pad and are installed near the public water meter, usually in the front yard.
In an attempt to appease complaints about the cost, the water department next year will start installing the RPs and letting the homeowners pay for them over a 12-month period instead of all at once. The water department will also test, maintain and replace the devices as needed.
But Brown and other Sun City residents still want the county to pay for the backflow valves. They say the valves are unnecessary because there is no proof of a cross connection contamination problem.
"To my knowledge, none of the homes that have auxiliary water systems are cross-connected to the county water supply," said Joyce Nodland, president of the North Lake Association in Sun City.
That's the problem: In most cases, there is no way to know if cross connections exist because the hookups to the lake are underground. Bob DiCecco, who handles backflow enforcement for the county, said the law requires him to issue notices of violation to residents who have lake-fed irrigation systems but don't have the backflow device.
Another reason to worry: Whoever did the hookups to the lake did not pull county permits. There's no way to know if the plumber was licensed or even a plumber at all.
"If they haven't had the thing permitted and used a licensed plumber, you find all kinds of things," Vanderploog said.
Weiss said he could not refute Brown's claim that nobody has gotten sick in Hillsborough County from cross connection contamination. But the county has received water quality complaints connected to auxiliary water supplies, he said.
"If somebody wants to tell you this doesn't happen and nobody gets sick from it, that's hard to quantify," Weiss said. "But the federal government says it happens, and it's a serious enough issue that there needs to be backflow protection to protect the citizens."
In 1996, a Hillsborough County water meter reader found a meter that was running backward. Further investigation showed a cross connection between the reclaimed water and drinking water systems in his yard. An estimated 50,000 gallons of treated sewer water flowed into the public water system because of the connection.
Brown, a retired computer programmer, got involved in the backflow controversy last year after another Sun City resident, who was cited for not having a backflow valve, asked him to intervene. Since then, he has spoken out against the requirements at every County Commission meeting and lobbied commissioners by e-mail.
The different sides on the backflow debate even have competing Web sites.
To see a list of backflow incidents, go to www.nobackflow.com, a site compiled by Les O'Brien, a senior training specialist at the University of Florida's Department of Continuing Education and former cross-connection control supervisor for Gainesville Regional Utilities.
Dave Brown's Web site on the backflow controversy is www.suncitydave.info
Reporter Mike Salinero can be reached at (813) 259-8303 or msalinero@tampatrib.com
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