PortlandBill
New Member
I need advice on locating a Reduced Pressure Backflow Assembly at my home in Portland Oregon. Where do people usually install these things? I'm getting a confusion of messages from the city on where it should be located.
I'm in the Pacific Northwest so our winters are mild although we can get cold snaps in the 20s for up to a week. (Water pipes are 2 feet down.)
1. The basement - but what to do with the water that comes out of it. Do I need to install a sump pump or can I attach a pipe to the outlet and run it through the joists over to a floor drain? (I think the outlet might need an air gap, but I'm not clear on this.) I also don't really know what kind of volume of water to expect: gallons through to thousands of gallons.
2. Outside above ground - can it be protected from freezes? - like if I were to put a pump casing around it , or put it in the unheated tool shed in the back yard.
3. Below ground - I suspect I'm not allowed to do this.
Some background information:
Presently my irrigation system is supplied by a double-check valve installed in a valve box below ground. (The installation was a work of art by my plumber; it's really sad to have to replace this!)
The reason the DCV is (apparently) not good enough - I'm installing a rainwater harvesting system to feed the irrigation system, hose bibs and toilet flushing. The underground cistern will have a city water top-up. Although there's an airgap the code says "Storage tanks shall not be connected directly to a public or community water supply without proper backflow protection. Make up water to rainwater storage tanks, when provided, must be made through a properly sized and constructed air gap as per Oregon plumbing code Table 6-3."
At least one city person says the air gap is enough. Another says I need a RPZ. I'm assuming the most conservative option is what I'll need to do.
I'm in the Pacific Northwest so our winters are mild although we can get cold snaps in the 20s for up to a week. (Water pipes are 2 feet down.)
1. The basement - but what to do with the water that comes out of it. Do I need to install a sump pump or can I attach a pipe to the outlet and run it through the joists over to a floor drain? (I think the outlet might need an air gap, but I'm not clear on this.) I also don't really know what kind of volume of water to expect: gallons through to thousands of gallons.
2. Outside above ground - can it be protected from freezes? - like if I were to put a pump casing around it , or put it in the unheated tool shed in the back yard.
3. Below ground - I suspect I'm not allowed to do this.
Some background information:
Presently my irrigation system is supplied by a double-check valve installed in a valve box below ground. (The installation was a work of art by my plumber; it's really sad to have to replace this!)
The reason the DCV is (apparently) not good enough - I'm installing a rainwater harvesting system to feed the irrigation system, hose bibs and toilet flushing. The underground cistern will have a city water top-up. Although there's an airgap the code says "Storage tanks shall not be connected directly to a public or community water supply without proper backflow protection. Make up water to rainwater storage tanks, when provided, must be made through a properly sized and constructed air gap as per Oregon plumbing code Table 6-3."
At least one city person says the air gap is enough. Another says I need a RPZ. I'm assuming the most conservative option is what I'll need to do.
