What is Backflow?

Most folks don't really know what is up with the backflow thing. The basic idea is that if you have a pressure drop on the supply side (think city water main) the drop will cause water to travel backwards in the piping back to the source. The most common scenario in which you might see this is with a city water main break.

Backflow assemblies only allow water to travel one way through a pipe. This prevents contaminants that may come from industries, sprinkler systems, businesses etc. from getting drawn into the water supply. People may not know what backflow assemblies are or what they do, but they are probably the biggest reason you can drink our water without fear of getting sick like in some other countries. They may be a bit of a pain to maintain and cost some money along that way, but would you rather do without water to drink? They are definitely worth the expense.