Hawaii Administrative Rules
Title 11 - DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH
Subtitle 1 - GENERAL DEPARTMENTAL PROVISIONS
Chapter 21 - CROSS-CONNECTION AND BACKFLOW CONTROL
Section 11-21-2 - Definitions

As used in this chapter:

"Agency" means the department of health, State of Hawaii, and vested with the authority and responsibility for the enactment and enforcement of this ordinance.

"Airgap" means the unobstructed vertical distance through the free atmosphere between the lowest opening from any pipe or faucet supplying water to a tank, plumbing fixture, or other device and the flood-level rim of the receptacle. The vertical distance shall be at least double the diameter of the supply pipe above the flood-level rim and in no case shall the gap be less than one inch.

"Approved" means accepted by the department of health and water purveyor as meeting the applicable specification stated or cited in this ordinance, or as suitable for the proposed use.

"Backflow" means the flow of water or other liquids, mixtures, or substances into the distributing pipes of a potable supply of water from any source or sources other than its intended source. Backsiphonage is one type of backflow.

"Backflow Preventor" means a device or means to prevent backflow into the potable water system.

"Back Pressure" means backflow caused by a pump, elevated tank, boiler or other means that could create pressure within the system greater than the supply pressure.

"Backsiphonage" means the flow of water or other liquids, mixtures or substances into the distribution pipes of a potable water supply system from any source other than its intended source caused by the sudden reduction of pressure in the potable water supply system.

"Certified Tester" means three classes of certified testers:

1) a limited tester has been trained and is qualified to perform periodic testing, inspection, and repairs on the specific devices contained within a specific plant or institution. This person is usually an employee of the plant or institution and has been assigned the duty of taking care of the backflow prevention equipment as part of his overall plant duties, and does not extend to backflow prevention devices that are not part of the specific plant or institution;

2) a general tester been trained and is qualified to perform the periodic testing, inspection, and repairs on all devices that are on the market. This person may be an employee of a water agency, an employee of a municipal agency, or an individual operating a backflow device testing service; and

3) a manufacturer's agent is an employee of a manufacturer of backflow prevention equipment and is thoroughly familiar with the backflow prevention devices produced by his employer. This person may be familiar with other makes and models of backflow prevention devices but is restricted to only his employer's products.

"Check Valve" means a self-closing device which is designed to permit the flow of fluids in one direction and to close if there is a reversal of flow.

"Community Water System" means a public water system which serves at least fifteen service connections used by year-round residents or regularly serves at least twenty-five year-round residents.

"Contamination" means an impairment of the quality of the potable water by sewage, industrial fluids or waste liquids, compounds or other materials to a degree which creates an actual hazard to the public health through poisoning or through the spread of disease.

"Critical Level" means the critical level C-L or C/L marking on a backflow prevention device or vacuum breaker which is a point conforming to approved standards and established by the testing laboratory (usually stamped on the device by the manufacturer), which determines the minimum elevation above the flood-level rim of the fixture or receptacle served at which the device may be installed. When a backflow prevention device does not bear a critical level marking, the bottom of the vacuum breaker, combination valve, or the bottom of any such approved device shall constitute the critical level.

"Cross-Connection" means any physical arrangement whereby a public water supply is connected, directly or indirectly, with any other water supply system, sewer, drain, conduit, pool, storage reservoir, plumbing fixture, or other device which contains, or may contain, contaminated water, sewage, or other waste or liquid of unknown or unsafe quality which may be capable of imparting contamination to the public water supply as a result of backflow. Bypass arrangements, jumper connections, removable sections, swivel or changeover devices, and other temporary or permanent devices through which, or because of which, backflow could occur are considered to be cross-connections.

"Director" means the director of health of the department of health, State of Hawaii, or his duly authorized representative.

"Flood-Level Rim" means the edge of the receptacle from which water overflows.

"Hazard, Health" means any condition, device, or practice in the water supply system and its operation which create, or in the judgment of the director may create, a danger to the health and well-being of the water consumer. An example of a health hazard is a structural defect in the water supply system, whether of location, design, or construction, that regularly or occasionally may prevent satisfactory purification of the water supply or cause it to be polluted from extraneous sources.

"Non-Community Water System" means a public water system that is not a community water system.

"Non-Potable Water" means water that is not safe for human consumption or that is of questionable potability.

"Pollution" means the presence of any foreign substance (organic, inorganic, radiological or biological) in water that may degrade the water quality so as to constitute a hazard or impair its usefulness.

"Potable Water" means water free from impurities in amounts sufficient to cause disease or harmful physiological effects. The bacteriological, chemical, and radiological quality shall conform with Administrative Rule 11-20, "Potable Water Systems."

"Public Water System" means a system for the provision to the public of piped water for human consumption, if such system has at least fifteen service connections or regularly serves an average of at least twenty-five individuals daily at least sixty days out of the year. Such term includes (1) any collection, treatment, storage, and distribution facilities under control of the operator of such system and used primarily in connection with such system, and (2) any collection of pretreatment storage facilities not under such control which are used primarily in connection with such system. A public water system is either a "community water system" or a "non-community water system."

"Secondary Water System" means any water supply in a building or premise maintained in addition to a public water system. Such secondary water system shall include any system, other than the public water supply, supplying surface water from streams, rivers, lakes, ponds, lagoons, reservoirs and cisterns, and groundwater from both deep and shallow sources; also, any supply of public water system which has been stored, held, reserved, treated, and processed in a manner which may detract from the potability of the water by either bacterial, chemical, or radiological nature.

"Submerged Inlet" means a water pipe or extension thereto from a public water supply terminating in a tank, vessel, fixture or appliance which may contain water of questionable quality, waste or other contaminant and which is unprotected against backflow.

"Vacuum" means any pressure less than that exerted by the atmosphere.

"Vacuum Breaker, Atmospheric Nonpressure Type" means a vacuum breaker designed so as not to be subjected to static line pressure or installed where it would be under pressure for not more than twelve hours in any twenty-four hour period.

"Vacuum Breaker, Pressure Type" means a vacuum breaker designed [so as not to be subjected to] to operate under conditions of static line pressure.

"Water-Service Connection" means the terminal end of a service connection from the public potable water system; i.e., where the water purveyor loses jurisdiction and sanitary control over the water at its point of delivery to the customer's water system. If a meter is installed at the end of the service connection, then the service connection shall mean the downstream end of the meter. There shall be no unprotected tackoffs from the service line ahead of any meter or backflow prevention device located at the point of delivery to the customer's water system. Service connection shall also include water service connection from a fire hydrant and all other temporary or emergency water service connections from the public potable water system.