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PLUMBING CONNECTION
SUMMER 2015
MOVING FORWARDWITH BACKFLOW
H
ave you ever had a drink of tap water and found
yourself becoming violently ill? While Australia’s
potable water may taste questionable at times, in
most areas it is extremely unlikely that the water from our
taps is unsafe to drink. There are two major reasons for this.
Firstly, the products used to transfer and convey our potable
water have been tested and screened as fit for purpose
through the mandatory WaterMark scheme. The other not
so commonly known reason is Australia’s rigorous backflow
prevention.
Backflow can be defined as the movement of water
back from the direction it came from, which can lead
to disastrous health effects. Even from a single outlet,
backflow has the potential to affect thousands of buildings
and the people within them.
Backflow prevention is used to protect our water supply
network and is controlled in a number of ways. This includes
mandatory certification of particular products as well
as regulation and inspection of the finished installation.
Historically speaking, plumbing products found within
dwellings were standardised in design, hence their
associated backflow risks were commonly known and easily
accounted for. In recent times however, innovations have
seen the nature and quantity of plumbing products and
fixtures used in dwellings change significantly.
Australian Standards used to certify plumbing products
under the Watermark scheme often include appropriate
sections to ensure that backflow risks are controlled at a
product level. This approach works well in most situations
but there are a couple of major areas for concern. A
contributor to backflow prevention risk is the rise of many
products or appliances that rely on a connection to our
potable water supply.
Technology and manufacturing advancements mean
products such as drinking water filters, ice-makers,
refrigerator water dispensers and even bidet douche seats
are much more prevalent in modern homes. And when you
include these with other more common appliances such as
dishwashers, plumbing connection points for appliances
could outnumber regular plumbing connection outlets.
It is important to note that appliances built to connect
directly to the potable water mains are required to have
mandatory WaterMark certification, which includes the
need for integral backflow prevention. There is a downside
though. Due to the ease in which these products can be
connected, the licensed plumber is often removed from
the installation process. This leaves the home handyman
responsible for ensuring adequate backflow prevention
devices are used and installed correctly.
Plumbers play a pivotal role in making sure the customer
has purchased a WaterMark certified product but can only
do so if they are part of the equation. Unfortunately, DIY
installations have also allowed for products to be offered on
the market which have avoided the WaterMark certification
process entirely.
With many appliances being offered without WaterMark
certification, and many non-licensed practitioners taking
responsibility for their installation, perhaps backflow
prevention needs to be considered from an upstream
location where plumbing regulation has more control. In the
days gone by, before the introduction of ceramic cartridges,
wall stop taps used jumper valves which had an inherent
level of backflow associated with the design. Incorporating
integral backflow prevention into wall stop taps protects the
DIRTY WATER RETURNING TO A CLEAN AND SAFE WATER SOURCE HAS THE POTENTIAL TO CAUSE SICKNESS AND
EVEN FATALITY TO AN UNSUSPECTING RESIDENT TAKING A DRINK FROM THEIR KITCHEN TAP.
Backflow can lead to disastrous health effects if not picked
up early on in the piece.
PROVE STANDARDS