Title
Ordinance No. 17-42 amending Article 1 (General Provisions) and Article 4 (Water Code) of Chapter 12 (Utilities) of the Code of the City of Colorado Springs, as amended, pertaining to Backflow Prevention
Presenter:
Tara McGowan, Program Supervisor
Michael Gustafson, Senior Attorney
Body
Summary:
Colorado Springs Utilities ("Utilities") is committed to protecting the safety of our community's drinking water. One way Utilities does this is by ensuring that our water customers comply with the Colorado Department of Health and Environment's Backflow Prevention/Cross Connection control regulations ("State Regulations"). The State Regulations were revised in 2016 and now require water providers, such as Utilities, to ensure that their customers install the backflow prevention assemblies or methods that are necessary to protect its water system from backflow. These assemblies prevent chemicals and other contaminants within commercial facilities from flowing into the community's water distribution system. City Code Sections 12.4.401, et seq. ("Backflow Code") govern Colorado Springs' current backflow prevention program. The City Code requires updates to comply with the revised State Regulations. Utilities requests that City Council approve an ordinance revising the Backflow Code on first reading at the April 25, 2017 City Council meeting.
Previous Council Action:
N/A
Background:
Prior to 2016, the State Regulations required Utilities to ensure that commercial businesses and multifamily dwellings that were discovered after 2001 have backflow prevention assemblies in operation. The revised State Regulations expand the number and types of customers the program applies to, make water providers responsible for ensuring that compliance with the State Regulations is achieved, and require Utilities to survey all commercial customers to ensure compliance with the State Regulations by the end of 2020.
To make the Backflow Code consistent with the rev...
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