Things you can do to prevent backflow at your home
Have all changes to your plumbing system done by a licensed plumber.
Install and maintain hose bib vacuum breakers on all outside faucets. The hose bib vacuum breaker isolates your garden hose from the rest of your plumbing system. Garden hoses are the most likely source of residential backflow. Hoses left in a swimming pool, on the ground in a puddle, or connected to a lawn or garden chemical sprayer without a hose bid vacuum breaker create a potential for water system contamination.
Do not attach any pesticide, chemical, or any other non-potable liquid applicator to your water line.
Survey your home to make sure that no hoses or pipes are connected to a potential source of contamination. Please contact the Department of Public Works at 508-966-5813 or the Plumbing Inspector at 508-966-5821 if you have any questions about the plumbing at your house. We will gladly perform a survey of your plumbing free of charge.
Contact us for more information about Cross Connections and our program to prevent them.
View a copy of Protecting Your Water (PDF), from the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection and the American Backflow Prevention Association.