If they have not already, many local commercial and industrial businesses will soon begin receiving letters from the El Dorado Water Utilities, notifying them when inspections are due for their backflow prevention devices.
In August, the EWU approached the El Dorado City Council with a request to amend city Ordinance 1586, which regulates inspections and certifications of connections to the city's water supply -- specifically, backflow prevention devices. The amendment was approved last month.
The EWU and its advisory board agreed that the measure will help to ensure that commercial and industrial customers regularly inspect their backflow preventers and further protect public health and safety by preventing the contamination of the city's potable water supply.
Ordinance 1586 was adopted in 1999 to prevent customers' water from flowing back into the municipal water system.
It lists some facilities for which backflow preventers are required, including automatic car washes, medical facilities, mortuaries/funeral homes, commercial laundries, radiator and battery shops, hotels and motels, apartment buildings, salons and barbershops and restaurants and other businesses that handle food.
The ordinance was amended in 2005 to exempt lawn sprinkler systems.
With the latest revision, the EWU will take a more proactive approach to make sure backflow-preventer inspections are conducted annually, as required by the ordinance.
"The reason we wanted the ordinance changed is that when it's time to have (backflow preventers) inspected, a lot of people just won't do it," said John Peppers, general manager of the EWU.
Council members adopted the ordinance after its third reading on Sept. 23. The ordinance goes into effect 30 days after it was passed.
Per the amendment to Ordinance 1586, the EWU will start by sending letters to applicable customers, notifying them of the amendment and reminding them when inspections are due for their backflow prevention devices
Upon receiving a letter, the customer will have 10 business days to respond.
If the backflow prevention device is not inspected and certified within that time, the EWU will conduct the inspection and certification at the expense of the customer.
A 10% surcharge will also be added to the customer's bill.
"With that change, if it's not done in 10 working days, we can send someone to do it and charge you for having it done," he continued. "I figure it'll take one or two times for them to get the message."
Peppers said there are about 400 backflow preventers in El Dorado, adding that the EWU's pre-treatment coordinator will enforce the new regulation.
The EWU uses a software program to keep track of inspections for backflow preventers in the city.
"Glenn Mechanical is also pretty good about keeping their customers informed and issuing reminders," Peppers said, referring to the local business that provides plumbing, heating, ventilation and air conditioning services to residential and commercial customers.
Council Member Billy Blann previously asked if customers will receive letters for backflow preventers that are not in use.
In such instances, Peppers said customers may contact the EWU and request that an inactive preventer be removed.
"We will remove it and mark it as such (in our records) and you will not have to have it inspected," Peppers told Blann.
The Arkansas Department of Health conducts its own inspection of the EWU's records of backflow preventer inspections every three years, , said Peppers.
"We get inspected by the health department to make sure we're doing our job," he said.
For more information, call the EWU at 870-862-6451 or Peppers at 870-814-1764.