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CONTRACT NO. K-1415-75: A CONTRACT BY AND BETWEEN THE NORMAN UTILITIES AUTHORITY AND HARDIN & ASSOCIATES CONSULTING, L.L.C., IN THE AMOUNT OF $40,000 TO PROVIDE CONSULTING SERVICES TO IMPLEMENT A BACKFLOW PREVENTION/CROSS CONNECTION CONTROL PROGRAM .
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BACKGROUND: The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) established national standards for safe drinking water under the provisions of the Safe Drinking Water Act of 1974. Each delegated state is required to enforce the various regulations of the Safe Drinking Water Act related to sources of drinking water as well as the supervision of public water supply systems. There have been numerous instances nationwide and in Oklahoma where potable water is contaminated via improper connections resulting in public health concerns.
To protect the public health, the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) requires the public water supplier to determine potential and actual cross-connection hazards to the potable water supply. If a hazard exists at a customer's public water supply service connection, then appropriate backflow protection is required to be installed and maintained at the meter and/or at the source of the hazard. DEQ Regulation OAC 252:631-3-17(2) generally requires the Norman Utilities Authority (NUA) to protect the potable water by not allowing connections to any device or system that poses a health threat unless:
1. it is equipped with an air gap of at least 6 inches above the overflow or drain pipe; or
2. an approved and properly maintained backflow prevention device is installed.
Additionally, the City of Norman has adopted the International Plumbing Code which requires the installation and the annual testing of backflow prevention devices. City staff has been working to develop a backflow prevention/cross-connection control program for several years. After researching the options regarding development of an ordinance and the expertise involved, staff decid...
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