UPDATE 1/31/2008: The cost to install the device on our 1.5 inch water line to the neighborhood pool house will be about $1300 with an additional fee each year to “inspect and adjust it”.

Ever heard of mandated backflow prevention? No? You will.

Part of the Federal Safe Drinking Water Act requires states to enact legislation mandating backflow-prevention devices on water service lines. Now, the logical place for this is of course the water meter, but at least in my area they are not doing it that way. They are requiring a separate device be installed - at the consumers’ expense.

This first phase is directed at businesses and neighborhoods with irrigation systems or pools.

The installation, routine testing and maintenance of these devices are the responsibility of the consumer in my area.

To those who say, yeah but these businesses can afford to spend this to maintain water safety, remember this; while commercial users consume the largest amount of water, they are not the largest number of service feeds of any water utility. Therefore, the largest risk to contamination is all those residential service feeds.

What’s more, those commercial users just end up passing all costs to their customers, yes even taxes are paid by their customers. Companies never have and never will be the ultimate payer of these types of fees or taxes. It all gets pushed down the line.

The like next phase will be requiring it of all water service feeds, including the one at your house and if you are a renter rubbing your hands together thinking “the man” will have to pay for this, think again. Unless you are in a rent controlled area, “the man” will pass those costs along to you, you just won’t know it.

So, contact your water authority and find out how they are going to deal with this unfunded federal mandate. Get involved and make sure this device gets installed where it belongs - in the water meter or at the very least on the utility side of the meter.