I can honestly say that I love my job. I think the work I do is important, as it helps to improve people’s lives and protects their health. Since the beginning of this year, I have been working with cross-connection classes in New Jersey, Arizona, South Dakota and Virginia, and shortly will be headed to Nevada. It is interesting to look at the way different jurisdictions deal with backflow prevention and cross-connection control regulations and issues. Even the makeup of our class students will vary in different locations. We have seen a significant increase in the number of individuals from the fire sprinkler industry attending backflow tester and repairer training. A class is normally a mixture of individuals from the plumbing, pipefitting, sprinkler fitting, irrigation and the waste and water industries. We also see individuals from the inspection, engineering, mechanical maintenance, and property maintenance industries. Backflow prevention and cross-connection control are an important part of any construction or maintenance project. Having trained and certified individuals working within all areas of these industries is vital to our mission of protecting our access to clean, safe drinking water.
A backflow tester certification class must train the students in the proper testing procedures for reduced pressure principle assemblies, double check valve assemblies, pressure vacuum breaker assemblies, and spill-resistant vacuum breaker assemblies. It must also train individuals to recognize failures in these assemblies during testing. Some people in our industry think that is most, if not all, of which a tester class should consist. As someone who has been teaching a crossconnection certification class since 1993, I must strongly disagree with that thinking. Being a qualified backflow tester is so much more than learning to memorize test steps. It is more than even possessing both the understanding of and skill to perform the required field test. We must train people to perform not just in the classroom or wet lab, but also in the field. In truth, every time a tester performs a field test on an assembly, they are conducting a mini cross-connection survey. The tester needs to understand what the degree of hazard is related to the cross-connection the assembly is protecting. They need to know what type of backflow is possible at that connection — backpressure, backsiphonage, or both. They need to know the installation requirements of the assembly type they are testing. They need to understand the codes and regulations in the areas in which they are working. This list is just the tip of the iceberg.
A certified tester must have the knowledge and skill to understand hydraulics, backflow prevention methods like airgaps and barometric loops. An understanding of the proper selection and installation of non-testable backflow prevention devices including hose bibb vacuum breakers, hose bibb backflow preventers, atmospheric vacuum breakers, dual checks, and many other specific use backflow devices is critical. Record keeping and safety are also important as is a complete understanding of the testing equipment we use while conducting evaluations of testable assemblies.
In many of the classes I teach, students say it is too intense and suggest that the class length be extended. The training classes in our industry range anywhere from 16 to 40 hours. A 40-hour class takes a technician out of the field for an entire week. Add the cost of a certification class, which may range from $1,000 to $1,500 per person, and you can see that the student, or in most cases the employer, is already making a signification investment. It would be difficult, if not impossible, to extend the class time past a one-week commitment. The ASSE Series 5000, Cross-Connection Professional Qualification Standard, requires a minimum of a 40-hour class. The classes I teach are scheduled for 40 hours, but in many cases, we include additional hours in the wet lab to allow students more time for the hands-on portion of the training. ASSE also requires that students have a minimum of five years’ industry experience in plumbing or a related field, or be a fourth or fifth-year apprentice in a recognized apprenticeship program. This prerequisite means that students will, at a minimum, have a basic knowledge of mechanical systems and hydraulics prior to attending. To be a quality tester, you need to develop a significant range of knowledge so that you understand not just how to test a backflow preventer but also understand how it works and how it affects the hydraulics of the systems on which they are installed.
In speaking with a contractor last week about what a backflow tester class included, he seemed surprised and upset that the 40-hour class didn’t include a repairer and a surveyor/specialist certification in that single training class. He was also upset that the training was not available as an online class so his employees could attend the training in the evening on their own time. He did not understand the need for recertification on a three year cycle. I would like to say that I was able to convince him that multiple classes were necessary, and recreation was a vital part of ensuring only qualified testers were testing assemblies, but I was not. Most companies understand the importance of quality training, licensing, and certification. The fact that most do is one of the main reasons I enjoy what I do. With that being said, it is at times frustrating and thankless work with unnecessary roadblocks put in the way of progress. When I see the lightbulb go on in a student’s mind and see the satisfaction they have when successfully completing the testing and becoming a certified tester for the first time, it makes the work we do worthwhile.
As Confucius said, “Chose a job you love, and you will never need to work a day in your life.” It is also important that those of us who have spent many years in the industry pass on the knowledge and experience we possess to the next generation who will take our place protecting and preserving drinking water. To end this column with a second quote, let us hear from the Dalai Lama, who said, “Share your knowledge. It is a way to achieve immortality.”
