Needs
Assessment
The needs
assessment effort attempts to get a “big picture” view of your facilities’
water system, including the types of assemblies currently in place and
identifying areas where, additional valves may need to be installed. The
specific questions that need to be answered initially are as follows:
- How many
Facilities do you maintain, own, and/or manage?
- Do you
know the number of backflow assemblies in place?
·
Size of Assembly
·
Assembly Type
o
Double Check Valve
Assembly
o
Reduced Pressure
Principle Assembly (RPZA)
o
Double Check
Detector (PRV)
o
Pressure Vacuum
Breaker
- Location
of Assemblies.
If you do
not have this information, it maybe cost effective to contract with a
backflow testing company to do the testing of your facilities to attain the
needed information. The testing company will locate the assemblies and the
testing data will provide you with specific information about size, type and
location.
Typically a
survey fee equal to the testing fee will be charged per assembly needed for
installation. The will be on-site testing; therefore, there is no need to
pay a separate fee.
SURVEY
EXAMPLE: The testing
company goes to facility A, to check for assemblies:
- Domestic
Water - 1
- Fire
Protection – 2
-
Irrigation – Locates Irrigation but finds no backflow assembly.
The testing
company charges $100.00 to test each assembly. The company finds and test
assemblies on the domestic water, and the fire protection.
Charges:
The charges
are $300.00 and additional $100.00 survey charge due to the Irrigation
assembly issue. Therefore, a survey and location of assembly is needed and
this survey is the same as a test charge of $100.00.
Result:
Upon completion of the testing/surveying, the testing company will provide a
spreadsheet detailing all of the information need to certify all of the
backflow assemblies in your facility. Components of this assessment
include:
- Number of
facilities maintained
- Number of
assemblies currently in place
- Number of
properly working existing assemblies
- Number of
additional assemblies needed for compliance.
The most
effective means of requiring the survey information is by contracting with a
backflow prevention company to test all existing assemblies to make a
determination if assemblies are functioning properly or failing to comply.
On-site determination of any needed additional assemblies will also be
completed at this time. An alternative to this process would be to complete
an on-site, walk-through survey of all existing backflow assemblies noting
any new assembly installations needed for compliance.
When
determining the implementation and installation of any backflow assembly,
two factors need to be considered, containment and isolation. The law
requires containment integrity of an assembly, but not of the isolation.
The isolation of a valve, however, may become a major factor in the event of
a lawsuit.
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