In-Plant Hazards

It is the responsibility of the public water system to determine the overall nature of the facility and establish the degree of hazard of the facility during the cross-connection survey of the facility. The public water system shall access the domestic internal plumbing system to determine if it poses a potential health hazard to both the public water system and the individuals consuming the water within the building. The public water system must focus on the overall hazards posed by both the protected and unprotected cross-connection located within the domestic internal water system. The hazards at the fixture may be significantly greater than the hazard to the distribution system because the concentration of the hazard is higher at the fixture.

To determine the degree of hazard of the facility, the public water system must see actual cross-connections within the facility that could contaminate or pollute the internal domestic potable water system and in turn contaminate or pollute the public water system distribution system. The supplier of water should have the right of entry to determine the degree of hazard and the existence of cross-connections in order to protect the potable water system. A certified individual shall conduct a cross-connection survey for every commercial, industrial and educational facility. An education program should address residential cross-connections. The cross-connection survey can be conducted by the public water system or by the facility owner.