Thousands in Kennewick told to check water valves

The city of Kennewick’s new push to enforce an old rule is puzzling thousands of water customers.

After years of neglect, the city is stepping up enforcement of a longstanding rule that requires property owners to have backflow valves on irrigation and other systems inspected annually.

Backflow devices stop water in irrigation or other systems from reversing into the city’s water supply and reappearing in neighboring faucets as drinking water.

The city didn’t seriously enforce the inspection requirement before Cary Roe became its public works director in 2014.

“Cross connection wasn’t getting the emphasis it needed,” he told the Herald.

Policing the points where the city’s water system intersects with irrigation systems is a key to protecting drinking water and complying with the federal Clean Water Act and related state law.

“It’s a water quality issue,” Roe said.

When he realized the city wasn’t emphasizing the inspect rule, he challenged his department to get better.

Beginning in January, city water customers started receiving letters giving them 30 days to have backflow valves inspected by certified inspectors.

It attached a list of 21 certified firms, most in the Tri-Cities. The service costs about $60 to $100.

As of July 1, it has sent out about 3,000 letters and plans to send 1,400 more by the end of the year.

Roe said the mailings were spread out to avoid overwhelming the limited number of testers.

He said if customers aren’t able to meet the 30-day deadline, they can call the water department for an extension. In some cases, the city can help a low-income senior by doing its own inspection.

For many, the letter was the first time they’d heard of backflow valves or the annual inspection requirement.

Some didn’t know if they had them. Still more said they’d never been required to check them in the past and were puzzled by the “annual” language in the letter.

“We literally received hundreds of calls,” he said.

Three Kennewick testing firms, Baker backflow Testing, Coffey’s Refrigeration and Pacific backflow Services, confirmed they’ve seen a dramatic increase in requests for testing services.

“They’re surprised because it hasn’t been enforced. And it should have been,” said one testing firm representative who declined to be identified.

Roe said the issue is most common for homeowners who irrigate yards with city water. Backflow valves are installed at the main water line on the customer’s side of the meter wherever outside systems connect.

Commercial customers are also affected. City code requires valves on all devices attached to the water system. Common examples include soda machines and commercial ice makers.

Roe said there was no malfeasance involved with the past practice. The city’s former cross connect expert manager retired more than a year ago after 30 years of service. His successor, Ed Melville, was charged with emphasizing compliance.

“The prior emphasis wasn’t as strong as it needed to be,” Roe said. “There were no issues with people not doing their job.”

Roe said he’s softening the city’s approach. It is drafting a new letter to better explain the program and why inspections are important.

The city also has a video posted on YouTube that shows how backflow prevention devices work and why they’re important.

This story was originally published July 7, 2016 at 7:06 PM with the headline "Thousands in Kennewick told to check water valves."