[06/11/02]Henry Lehnerer says a city-required inspection of a supposed safety device on his water system is costing him $165 a year, an amount he says is too much.

Lehnerer owns The Townhouse Hair Styling Salon on Mission 66 and installed the cross-connection backflow prevention device at his business last year after being told by city officials that it was required by law.

The installation of the device cost $500, but it is the annual inspection that’s upsetting to Lehnerer.

“I just think it’s too expensive,” he said.

The State Department of Health adopted regulations in 1998 requiring all Mississippi cities to create a cross-connection backflow prevention policy. The idea is to eliminate the chance of any contaminant being drawn back into a water system from an outside source.

An example is a water hose with one end left in an outside source of water such as a pond. If pressure was lost in the city’s water system, the water from the pond could be sucked back into the main lines.

The devices are installed on most commercial businesses in Vicksburg, and the green, plastic covers can be seen in front of many stores.

Jim Conerly of Backflow Solutions Inc., the firm that worked with Vicksburg to come up with the city’s policy, said amounts charged for installation and inspection of the devices vary, but that $165 is a reasonable cost for the inspection.

Prices also vary depending on the size of the device required based on the amount of water used and what type of service is offered with the inspection, he said.

Backflow Solutions of Jackson provides the service to Lehnerer, which includes the cost of repairs if the valve should malfunction. Not all certified inspectors include the cost of repairs in the cost that could make it less, but Conerly said property owners have a choice.

“Call two or three suppliers and don’t just take the first answer,” Conerly said.

James “Bubba” Rainer, public works director, said not every property owner is required to install the device. An option that does not require the cost of an annual inspection is a hose bib vacuum breaker on outside faucets or an atmospheric vacuum breaker on the spray hose at sinks like those at the hair salon.

Both are less expensive than the cross-connection backflow prevention device and are a one-time expense. Lehnerer said that option, which could have saved him the $165-a-year fee, was never explained to him.

“They told me that this is the way it has to be done,” Lehnerer said.

The hosebib vacuum breakers cost about $5 each and can be installed by the property owners with a screwdriver. The atmospheric vacuum breaker costs about $50 each and requires a plumber.

Conerly said every home should install the hosebib vacuum breakers on all outside faucets.

“The No. 1 cross connection in the country are garden hoses,” Conerly said.

He said that if pressure is lost in the water system and a contaminant is brought back into the system, it could end up coming back through the homeowner’s inside faucets.

Rainer said the city has notifying all property owners who are required to install the systems, but is giving people time to do the work. Under the ordinance adopted by the city, if property owners do not install the devices where required, their water can be shut off.

“We’re not going to cut off anyone’s water yet,” Rainer said. “We’re just trying to let people know we have to do this.”

The city can also cut off water if the property owner fails to turn in annual inspection reports of the cross connection device, but has not since the program began.

The Legislature has changed the statute regarding the cross-connection devices exempting swimming pools, lawn irrigation systems and fire sprinklers.

The preventers in the main water line must be installed by a plumber and checked and tested annually by someone certified to make the tests. The inspection has to be reported to the city every year.