ORDINANCE NO.__________
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF MANHATTAN BEACH ESTABLISHING REGULATIONS REGARDING WATER SUPPLY CROSS-CONNECTIONS, AMENDING TITLE 7 OF THE MANHATTAN BEACH MUNICIPAL CODE, AND APPROVING A CEQA DETERMINATION THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF MANHATTAN BEACH DOES ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. A new Chapter 7.46 is hereby added to Title 7 of the Manhattan Beach Municipal Code to read as follows:
“Chapter 7.46 – Cross-Connection Control
Section 7.46.010 - Purpose
Section 7.46.020 - Application
Section 7.46.030 - Definitions
Section 7.46.040 - Determination
Section 7.46.050 - Notice
Section 7.46.060 - Installation
Section 7.46.070 - Inspection, Testing, and Maintenance Section 7.46.080 - Enforcement
Section 7.46.090 - Administration
Section 7.46.010 - Purpose
The Purpose and Intent of this Section:
To comply with the requirements imposed upon the City pursuant to Title 17, Section 7583-7605, inclusive, of the California Code of Regulations, entitled “Regulations Relating to Cross-Connections.” To protect the City’s public potable water supply system from contamination or pollution by isolating within the Water User’s internal distribution system(s) or the Water User’s private water system(s) contaminants or pollutants which could backflow into the City’s public water system.
C. To promote the elimination or control of cross-connections, actual or potential, between the Water User's potable water system(s) and non-potable water system(s), plumbing fixtures, and industrial systems; and D. To maintain a Cross-Connection Control Program, which will systematically and effectively minimize the potential for contamination or pollution of the City’s potable water system.
Section 7.46.020 - Application
The provisions of Title 17 of the California Code of Regulations (“CCR Title 17”) and all other regulations regarding Cross-Connections that are adopted by the State of California Department of Health Services pursuant to Health and Safety Code Section 116375(c), which may be amended from time to time, are hereby adopted by the City, incorporated herein by this reference, and made a part hereof as though set forth in full.
Section 7.46.030 - Definitions
In addition to the definitions outlined in CCR Title 17, the following terms are defined for the purpose of this chapter:
Approved Backflow Device: Refers to the list of the backflow prevention devices listed in Section 7.46.030 (H)1-5.
Approved Water Supply: The term “Approved Water Supply” shall mean a water supply whose potability is regulated by the Department of Health Services.
Auxiliary Water Supply: The term “Auxiliary Water Supply” shall mean any water supply, other than the City's, which is either on or available to the property. Auxiliary Water Supply may include water from another public potable water supply or from any natural source(s) such as, but not limited to, a well, a river, a stream, or used water. These waters may be contaminated, polluted, or constitute an unacceptable water source over which the City does not have sanitary control.
Backflow: The term "Backflow" shall mean the undesirable reversal of flow of water or mixtures of water and other liquids, gasses, or substances into the distribution pipes of the City's potable water supply from any source or sources.
Backpressure: The term "Backpressure" shall mean any elevation of water supply pressure which could cause, or tends to cause, a reversal of the normal direction of water flow.
Backsiphonage: The term "Backsiphonage" shall mean the flow of water or other liquids, mixtures or substances into the distribution pipes of a potable water supply system from any source other than its intended source caused by negative or sub atmospheric pressure in the potable water supply system.
Backflow Preventer: The term “Backflow Preventer” shall mean an installed device designed to ensure water can only flow in one direction in order to prevent a reverse flow created by a difference in water pressure.
Backflow Prevention Device(s): The term “Backflow Prevention Device(s)” shall mean the different backflow prevention devices and assembly methods acceptable for use in the City. These are as follows:
Air Gap (AG): The term "Air Gap" shall mean a physical separation between the free flowing discharge end of a potable water supply pipeline and an open or non-pressure receiving vessel.
2. Reduced Pressure Principle Backflow Prevention Assembly (“RPP Assembly”): The term "RPP Assembly" shall mean an assembly containing two independently acting approved check valves together with a hydraulically operating, mechanically independent pressure differential relief valve located between the check valves. The unit shall include properly located resilient seated test cocks and tightly closing resilient seated shutoff valves at each end of the assembly.
Double Check Valve Backflow Prevention Assembly (“DC Assembly”): The term “DC Assembly” shall mean an assembly composed of two independently acting approved check valves, including tightly closing resilient seated shutoff valves attached at each end of the assembly and fitted with properly situated resilient seated test cocks.
Double Check Detector Assembly (“DCDA Assembly”): The term “DCDA Assembly” shall mean an assembly composed of a line-size approved double check valve with a bypass containing a specific water meter and an approved double check valve. The meter shall accurately register flow rates of up to two (2) gallons per minute (gpm) and shall show a registration of all flow rates.
Pressure Vacuum Breaker Assembly (“PVB Assembly”): The term “PVB Assembly” shall mean an assembly composed of a spring-loaded check valve, spring-loaded air inlet valve, test cocks, and two shut-off valves.
Contamination: The term “Contamination” shall mean an impairment of the quality of the water, creating a public health hazard through poisoning or through the spread of disease by bacteria, virus, sewage, industrial fluids, or other toxic substances.
Cross-Connection: The term “Cross-Connection” shall mean any actual or potential connection or structural arrangement between a public water system, including a piping system connected to the public water system located on the premises of a Water User or available to the Water User, and any source or distribution system containing liquid, gas, or other substances not from an approved water supply. Bypass arrangements, jumper connections, removable sections, swivel or change over devices, or other devices through which backflow could occur, shall be considered to be Cross-Connections.
Cross-Connection Controlled: The term “Cross-Connections Controlled” shall mean a connection between a potable and non-potable water system with an approved backflow prevention assembly properly installed and maintained in order to continuously afford the proper protection.
Types of Hazards. The types of hazards causing a particular level of damage in regards to health, plumbing, pollution, and/or potable water systems, in order of severity, are classified as follows:
Health Hazard: The term "Health Hazard" shall mean the actual or potential threat of contamination of a physical or toxic nature to the City's water system or the Water User's potable water system that would be a danger to the public’s health.
Plumbing Hazard: The term "Plumbing Hazard" shall mean an internal or plumbing type cross-connection in a Water User's potable water system that may be to a pollutant or contaminant. This includes, but is not limited to, cross-connections to toilets, sinks, lavatories, wash basins, swimming pool plumbing systems, and lawn sprinkler systems. If permitted to exist, this hazard must be properly protected by an appropriate type of backflow prevention assembly.
Pollution Hazard: The term “Pollution Hazard” shall mean the actual or potential threat to the physical properties or the potability of the water system which would not constitute a health or system hazard. The potable water system would be degraded, depending on the degree or intensity of pollution, to the point where it becomes a nuisance, is aesthetically objectionable, or causes minor damage to the system or its appurtenances.
System Hazard: The term “System Hazard” shall mean an actual or potential threat of severe danger to the physical properties of the City's or the Water User's potable water system, which could have a delayed effect on the quality of the potable water in the system.
Industrial Fluids: The term “Industrial Fluids” shall mean any fluid or solution which may be toxic, or chemically, biologically, or otherwise contaminated or polluted in a form or concentration which would constitute a health, a system, a pollution, or a plumbing hazard if introduced into an approved water supply system.
Pollution: The term “Pollution” shall mean an impairment of the water quality to a degree that does not create a public health hazard but does adversely affect the aesthetic qualities of such water for domestic use.
Potential: The term “Potential” shall mean having or showing the capacity to become or develop into something in the future.
Service Connection: The term "Service Connection" shall mean the downstream end of the water meter. This is the point of delivery to the Water User's water system where the City loses jurisdiction and sanitary control of the water.
User Supervisor: The term “User Supervisor” shall mean a person designated by a Water User to oversee a water use site and who is responsible for preventing cross-connections.
Potable Water: The term "Potable Water" shall mean any public or private water supply that has been investigated and approved for human consumption.
Non-Potable Water: The term "Non-Potable Water" shall mean any public or private water supply that has not been approved for human consumption.
Used Water: The term "Used Water" shall mean any water supplied by the City from a public potable water system to a Water User's water system after it has passed through the service connection and is no longer under the City’s control.
Water User: The term “Water User” shall mean any person obtaining water from the public water system.
Section 7.46.040 - Determination
The City shall conduct surveys to identify Water User premises where Cross-Connections are likely to occur and evaluate the potential health hazards due to existing conditions. At a minimum, the evaluation shall consider the factors identified in Section 7585, CCR Title 17. However, notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, the City shall not be legally responsible for the abatement of any Cross-Connections which may exist within a Water User's premises.
Section 7.46.050 - Notice
Upon determination by the City that a Cross-Connection exists within the scope of this Section, the City shall give written notice to the affected Water User to install an Approved Backflow Device of a type and quality, and at a specific location, deemed appropriate by the City. The Water User shall immediately install such device at his or her expense, and in the manner prescribed by the City within thirty (30) days of the issuance of the said notice.
Section 7.46.060 - Installation
The location of any Approved Backflow Device installed pursuant to this Section shall be at the Water User's point of connection to the City's water System, or within the Water User's premises, or both, as determined by the City’s discretion. If an Approved Backflow Device is required to be installed on the Water User's connection to the City's water, it shall be located at or near the property line of the premises or immediately outside the building being served, but, in all cases, at a place deemed acceptable by the City that is before the first branch line leading off the service line, and otherwise as required by Section 7603, CCR Title 17.
Typical Installations: Conditions where an Approved Backflow Device is required on each service connection, shall include, but are not limited, to the following:
In the case of a property having an Auxiliary Water Supply, or one that is being fed by another outside water source, the public water system shall be protected against backflow from the premises by installing an approved Air Gap or RPP Assembly device.
In the case of a property on which toxic chemicals, pollutants, industrial fluids, or any other objectionable substances are handled or stored in such a fashion as to create an actual or potential hazard to the City's system, the public water system shall be protected against backflow from the premises by installing an approved Air Gap or RPP Assembly device.
In the case of a property having internal cross-connections that cannot be permanently corrected or protected against, or intricate plumbing and piping arrangements or where entry to all portions of the premises is not readily accessible for inspection purposes, making it impracticable or impossible to ascertain whether or not dangerous cross-connections exist, the public water system shall be protected against backflow from the property by installing an approved RPP Assembly device.
In the case of a property being served by two or more water services, water and fire services, water and irrigation services, or any combination thereof, the public water system shall be protected against backflow from the premises by installing an approved RPP Assembly device on each service connection.
In the case of a property having a solar heating system of a heat exchanger type that utilizes a recirculating pump, air conditioning units with chemical injection pots, or coolers with recirculating pumps, the public water system shall be protected against backflow from the premises by installing an approved RPP Assembly device.
In the case of a property on which there is water or a substance that may not be lawfully added to an Approved Water Supply, but not hazardous to the public’s health if introduced into the public water system, the public water system shall be protected against backflow from the premises by installing an approved DC Assembly device.
In the case of a single-family or multi-family residential property where known health hazards exist, the public water system shall be protected against backflow from the premises by installing an approved RPP Assembly device.
Typical Facilities: Typical facilities where the City requires the installation of approved backflow prevention assemblies:
Facility
Type
Required Assembly Device
Apartments of eight or more units
RPP
Bottling Plants
RPP
Buildings- Commercial or Industrial
RPP
Buildings- Hotels, Motels
RPP
Buildings, Multi-storied (three or more floor levels)
RPP
Car Wash Facilities
RPP
Cleaners
RPP
Commercial Buildings
RPP
Cooling Towers
RPP
Fire Systems (not interconnected and interconnected), Hospitals- Medical buildings, Mortuaries, Autopsy
RPP, DC
Facilities, Nursing and Convalescent Homes, and Clinics RPP
Irrigation Systems- Premises having separate systems: Parks, Playgrounds, Cemeteries, Golf Courses, Schools, Estates, Ranches RPP
Laundries and Dye works
RPP
Mobile Home Parks
RPP
Multiple Rental Buildings - that are master metered
RPP
Plating Plants
RPP
Sand and Gravel Plants
RPP
Schools
RPP
Sewage Lift Stations
RPP
Sewage Treatment Plants
AG, RPP
Sprinkling Systems (chemically entrained)
RPP
Steam Facilities
RPP
Public Swimming Pools, and Pools at Apartments, Condominiums, Home Owner Associations, City Parks, Trailer Parks, Mobile Homes RPP
Section 7.46.070 - Inspection, Testing and Maintenance
The City shall require a field test to be performed by a contractor certified to test and repair Approved Backflow Devices at the time of installation and at least once per year thereafter. In instances deemed necessary by the City, testing of Approved Backflow Devices may be required at more frequent intervals.
In the event that an Approved Backflow Device is found to be defective, the Water User shall make the necessary repairs or replacements. The Water User shall have an acceptance test performed after such repair or replacement to ensure proper operation of the Approved Backflow Device. All costs associated with the inspection, testing, repair, and maintenance of Approved Backflow Devices shall be borne by the Water User. Test results and records of all inspections, replacements, and repairs performed on an Approved Backflow Device by the Water User shall be maintained by the Water User and reported to the City in a manner deemed acceptable to the City.
Section 7.46.080 - Enforcement
The City may discontinue or refuse to supply water and/or sewer service to any premises that is not in strict compliance with the requirements of this Chapter or if it is found that an Approved Backflow Device has been removed or bypassed, or if unprotected Cross-Connections otherwise exist on the premises. The City may also disconnect water and/or sewer service to any premises if the health and safety of any person is immediately threatened by a Cross-Connection. The City may refuse to restore such service to the premises until the Cross-Connection is remedied and an Approved Backflow Device is installed and is operating in accordance with this Chapter.
Section 7.46.090 - Administration
The Public Works Director shall appoint at least one (1) person trained and certified in Cross-Connection Control to administer the provisions of this Chapter.”
SECTION 2. CEQA. The City Council finds that it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility the adoption of this Ordinance may have a significant effect on the environment because the adoption of this Ordinance will provide for greater environmental protection by preventing contamination of the City’s water supply. It is therefore exempt from California Environmental Quality Act review pursuant to Title 14, Section 15061(b)(3), of the California Code of Regulations.
SECTION 3. Any provisions of the Municipal Code, or any other resolution or ordinance of the City, to the extent that they are inconsistent with this Ordinance are hereby repealed, and the City Clerk shall make any necessary changes to the Municipal Code for internal consistency.
SECTION 4. If any part of this Ordinance or its application is deemed invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction, the City Council intends that such invalidity will not affect the effectiveness of the remaining provisions or their application and, to this end, the provisions of this Ordinance are severable.
SECTION 5. The City Clerk shall certify to the passage and adoption of this Ordinance and shall cause this Ordinance to be published within 15 days after its passage, in accordance with Section 36933 of the Government Code.
SECTION 6. The Ordinance shall go into effect and be in full force and effect at 12:01 a.m. on the 31st day after its passage.
ADOPTED on __________, 2023.
AYES: NOES: ABSENT: ABSTAIN:
RICHARD MONTGOMERY
Mayor
ATTEST:
LIZA TAMURA
City Clerk
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
QUINN M. BARROW
City Attorney
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