Water Safety and Backflow Prevention  

FINAL THOUGHTS: ITALIAN WINE FLOWING THROUGH DRINKING WATER AND RESILIENCY AND REGULATIONS IN TEXAS

Water was turned into wine in Italy on March 5, 2020, in the small village of Cantina Settecani, the home of Lambrusco production. The news reports made light of the sparkling wine flowing through residents plumbing systems as a “Wedding at Canaan” moment (John 2:1-11) or “divine intervention.” However, when Jesus turned water into wine, it was not due to valve failures.

According to the Gazette di Modena, the intoxicating dilemma was the result of a ‘technical fault’ at the nearby Setticani winery: “The problem began when a silo holding the wine started leaking into the water pipes. The wine was shot through the mains and directed into nearby houses. And when the residents’ turned on their taps, fizzy pink booze gushed out instead of water.”⁶ The winery apologized and quickly resolved the problem reported as a failure of the circuit valve on the bottling line. In this case, the problem was not harmful, but in many others, human health can be at risk.

Drinking water can be impacted by small malfunctions that can affect large numbers of people. One of the most widely reported incidents of a cross-connection failure occurred in Texas.⁷ In December 2016, the City of Corpus Christie imposed a water ban for parts of the city after a toxic chemical entered the drinking water supply. The public notice to the 320,000 residents warned residents to not use their tap water and use only bottled water for all drinking, beverage, and food preparation, making ice, brushing teeth, washing dishes or clothes, washing hands, and bathing until further notice. Residents were warned not to treat the water themselves, as boiling, freezing, filtering, adding chlorine or other disinfectants, or letting the water stand would not make the water safe.

According to the public notice: “Late today, an unknown chemical substance may have contaminated the City of Corpus Christi drinking water due to a recent backflow incident in the industrial district. In an abundance of caution and until results can confirm water safety, the City is issuing an avoid tap water usage until further notice. The City is working the incident with industry, state regulators, and consultants to correct the situation as quickly as possible.”⁸

The ban was lifted for some of the residents within four days. No confirmed illnesses were reported during this period; however, schools and businesses were closed, and the accident resulted in costly lawsuits. As little as an estimated three to 24 gallons of the chemical, Idnolin AA86, an asphalt-emulsifying agent, entered the drinking water system. This toxic chemical can burn skin in concentrated form. The impact of lack of testing and regulatory oversight of this industrial plant had a great impact on the health of all Corpus Christie residents.

Most jurisdictions require annual testing and regulate cross connection controls. Investigation of this incident revealed that the plant had not installed a backflow preventer and neglected annual testing. In 2018, after years of water quality issues, the City is now in compliance with all parameters set up by the EPA, including a new treatment plan and annual testing. The EPA requires water suppliers to report water quality every year. This includes the testing of 15 categories of contaminants. The City met all of the EPA requirements for all contaminants, indicating good water quality in the public drinking supply.

The stakes are high when specifying mechanical and plumbing systems connected to public drinking water. Whether the impact of secure backflow protection is a small as a single residence or as large as a whole city, architects, civil, mechanical, electrical, and plumbing engineers are responsible for prioritizing clean drinking water.