New water regulations will soak homeowners By JUDY JENSEN Asst. Managing Editor BOUNTIFUL Water users will face unexpected costs, at least $80 per average home, under newly enforced EPA regulations which require a backflow device for all irrigation ir-rigation lines, authorities said Monday. Mon-day. The backflow device would stop any irrigation water from flowing back into the system and polluting the culinary water. Some Davis County cities have already adopted an ordinance to put the requirements re-quirements in place and others are in the process of writing ordinances which must be in effect Feb. 1, , 1 991 to meet the state deadline. The cost will vary for each business busi-ness and home owner depending on the configuration of the irrigation water system, Carl Pond of Pond's Plumbing in North Salt Lake said a yacuum breaker for the main line at a home costs between $80 and $100. "If it is necessary to put one on each irrigation station the cost would be approximately $60 per valve,' he said. Costs for businesses busi-nesses could be even greater. . In addition to the cost of the device, there will be an additional installation cost. The homeowner could install his own backflow device, but it would have to be inspected in-spected by the city to be sure it meets requirements. Each city will have to determine if there will be a charge for this service. Patty Hansen, environmental health scientist for the Utah State Bureau of Drinking Water Sanitation said the regulation has been on the books for about 10 years. "We (the state) are now going to be enforcing the regulation because we are now more aware of backflow problems,' prob-lems,' she said. Hansen said there were at least eight cases of backflow problems reported in the state this summer where the culinary water system of a community com-munity was polluted by improper protection. "We have people in industry where they use irrigation water to wash equipment or products and that water is not protected from the culinary system," said Hansen. She explained that it could be as simple as a hose being used by a homeowner to wash a car. "The hose is put in soapy water and the water backflows into the house. We also have homeowners who will use a hose to clean out a plugged toilet and without protection that water can flow back into the culinary system and pollute the drinking water,' said Hansen. She added that a major problem occurs when irrigation water systems, such as the Weber Basin water used in Davis County, are turned on after irrigation water is needed and off before the weather has cooled to eliminate the need for irrigation. "It's then we see people tapping into their culinary system to irrigate with a cross connection. Generally the culprit with pollution is a faulty gate valve that doesn't shut tight and gets dirty water into the culinary system," Hansen said. The state will make the backflow device inspection part of its regular inspection of a city's water system. "Each city is required to have on its books a public awareness plan whereby every water user has been notified of the regulations and has been advised to adhere to them," Hansen said. North Salt Lake Public Works Director Rod Wood said the city is now considering adoption of an ordinance or-dinance which will bring it into compliance with the state and federal fed-eral regulations. "There will be a need for the city to put every business and every residence on a schedule and then make sure they are all checked," said Wn c-i. He adcd .'.a; cost of the time and resources for the new inspections will have to be borne by the homeowners or the businesses." Each homeowner and business owner will have to pay to come into compliance with the new regulations," said Wood. North Salt Lake is now doing random samplings of water quality throughout the city. With the new regulations every water source must be checked. He said Centerville and Woods Cross are also considering the implementation of the new regulations. Centerville has already passed its ordinance. The problem facing the cities is not the adoption of the ordinance, but how to implement imple-ment the changes necessary to be sure every business and residence is in compliance.