Backflow test deadline set

SANDPOINT — The city is giving residents until Aug. 6 to have their municipal water line backflow systems tested, despite objections from some property owners.

The Public Works department sent letters earlier this year to residents who have hot tubs, multi-zone sprinkler systems, boilers and other devices that could contaminate the municipal water

system if their backflow devices malfunctioned.

The letters informed property owners that annual backflow inspections must be completed by Aug. 6.

If the deadline is not met, the city could shut off water to residents who are not in compliance, according to the city.

The inspections cost approximately $50.

Sandpoint resident Ken Sanger said he will not conform to the mandate because it does not follow a city ordinance that states the backflow devices must be tested annually — with no specific date mentioned.

“My contention is a staff member cannot change the ordinance,” Sanger said.

He accuses Matt Mulder, the city’s assistant engineer, of joining the mayor in setting a date for the inspections without the blessing of the City Council.

“The ordinance says it has to be done annually,” Sanger said. “The only way to change the ordinance is by council action.”

That does not seem likely, however.

Council president John Reuter said despite empathizing with citizens’ concerns over the deadline for backflow inspections, it is up to the mayor to decide how the ordinance is administered.

“How the city administers the law is her decision to make,” Reuter said.

Although the inspection requirement by the Department of Environmental Quality may seem overly regulatory, Reuter said, it is the law.

The intent of the city ordinance is to comply with the state’s mandate, he said.

The inspections must take place in the summer, Mayor Gretchen Hellar said, because sprinkler systems and hot tubs are usually drained and disconnected before the first deep freeze.

“Those lines are usually blown out by the end of summer, and you can’t test them,” Hellar said. “It’s just common sense you would test them in summer.”

Last year, the city had 527 backflow devices tested, but there are more that are not registered, Mulder said.

“That is how many we know of so far,” Mulder said.

As the assistant city engineer, he is charged with logging the devices and contacting property owners to make sure they are aware of the state and city code.

The most practical time to test is in the summer, he said.

“We picked the deadline of August 6,” he said. “It gives me time to go out and knock on doors.”

Testing is done by a licensed plumber and takes about 20 minutes, he said. The test result is registered with the city.

Mulder said the city has the authority to deliver three-day water shut off notices to users who do not have their backflow valves tested.

“If they don’t test after that, I can have their water shut off,” he said. “I haven’t done that yet.”

Enforcement, though, may be more difficult.

“The law says people have until the end of the year,” Reuter said. “No one can require them to do something before that.”