Understanding Water Back flow: What Warner Robins and Macon, GA Residents Need to Know

If you own a home or business in Warner Robins or Macon, Georgia, you should make water safety a top concern. Water backflow poses a major threat to your water supply, yet many people overlook it. This issue can have a severe impact on the safety and quality of your water.

What is Water Back flow?

Water back flow occurs when water flow reverses, allowing contaminated water to enter your clean water supply. This can happen when drinking water connects with potentially unsafe sources like sewage lines, irrigation systems, or industrial equipment.

Water flows in one direction—from the city's water system and out through your drains. But some situations can disrupt this flow, causing dirty water to mix with your clean water, which nobody wants.

What Causes Water Back flow?

Water back flow can happen in two main ways: backpressure and back siphonage. To prevent it from happening, you need to understand both.

• Backpressure Back flow: This happens when a contaminated source has higher pressure than the clean water line. You often see this in connected boilers or fire sprinkler systems without proper back flow prevention. Dirty water might push back into your drinking supply if their pressure jumps.
• Back siphonage: This occurs when water supply pressure drops sharply, creating a vacuum that sucks contaminated water into your clean pipes. This can take place during a water main break or heavy water use, such as when firefighters are at work.

In places such as Warner Robins and Macon, old infrastructure, building work, and natural calamities can make back siphonage more likely. This is why you need to take action to prevent back flow.

The Risks: Health and Property Damage

Water back flow causes more problems than hassle—it can hurt your health and wreck your property. Dirty water can bring in bad stuff like sewage, chemicals, fertilizers, and germs or viruses. If this water gets into what you drink, it can make you or your family ill, leading to mild tummy troubles or worse health issues.

Back flow can also result in costly repairs. Water contamination that spreads into your walls or foundation can cause mold to grow, damage from water, and even problems with the structure. This highlights how crucial it is to have good back flow prevention set up.

How to Prevent Water Back flow

Thankfully, devices exist that can stop water back flow keeping your water supply safe. Here are a few common ones:

• Reduced Pressure Zone (RPZ) Devices: Industries and irrigation systems use these in high-risk areas. They keep contaminated water out of your clean supply to protect against back pressure and back siphonage.
• Double Check Valve Assemblies: These devices can be used in less risky situations, like home sprinkler systems. They have two check valves that stop back flow.
• Vacuum Breakers: These simple yet effective devices stop back siphonage. They let air into the water line when a vacuum forms. People often use them on outdoor hoses and appliances such as washing machines.

Buzzell Plumbing, Heating & Air offers expert back flow prevention solutions to protect your property. Our crew can assist you in selecting the right back flow prevention device for your property and ensure its correct installation.