Overview of Backflow Prevention
Safeguarding the public water system and protecting public health is an essential part of our mission here at Greenville Water.
Every connection to our system presents an opportunity for non-potable water to enter the public water system, whether it be a residential home or an industrial business.
To ensure public safety and health, Greenville Water has a service-wide backflow prevention program administered by the Cross Connection Control Program.
What is backflow?
Backflow is the unwanted reverse flow of water or other substances in a plumbing system, which can lead to contamination of potable water supplies.
Without barriers to prevent this, water from private plumbing systems, including industrial plants, pools, and medical facilities, could flow into our public system and impact water quality.
This is why state and federal laws require water utilities to have a program in place to prevent backflow. We do this by requiring customers whose water presents a backflow hazard to install a backflow prevention device or assembly and have it tested annually per SCDES and Greenville Water standards.
About our Cross Connection Control Program
Our backflow prevention program is administered in accordance with our Cross Connection Control Manual that includes:
- Determining whether a customer must install a backflow prevention device, and if so, which type.
- Developing and maintaining specifications for installing backflow prevention assemblies.
- Inspecting newly installed backflow preventers.
- Maintaining records of all customer backflow preventers in our service area and enforcing compliance with annual backflow test results for each.
Greenville Water does not install or test backflow preventers
All certified backflow testers need to upload test results in our portal linked below. If you are new to Greenville Water, please email a picture of your certification to bfp@greenvillewater.com.
- Backflow Test Form (PDF)
