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The government has acknowledged the contents of this website as being correct. Cindy Morris, the
Environmental Administrator for the Hillsborough County Health Department, in an internal email wrote:
"His web site is pretty accurate." Ta-Daaa!
"Final Notice" Fiasco! A number of County residents have recently received a "Final Notice" for backflow testing. The "Final Notice" gives them just 14 days to get a test or they get fined $500. According to Bart Weiss of the Water Resource Services (813-272-5977 x 43330), the notices were sent out in error because of a "computer/database error". The current notices can be ignored. You're under no pressure to arrange for a test within the next few days. For the moment, do nothing, because the County will be sending out revised letters within the next few weeks to clarify the situation. For advice on selecting a tester, when the time comes, please click below on "Costs of Valves & Testing". There is a bit of humor connected with these notices. On Friday (10/3/08) at 3:18pm, I sent an email to the Director of the Water Resource Services and some of his employees asking why these Final Notices were being sent to people who had never received a first notice. Within 8 minutes, Bob DiCecco replied with a stock email that the reason that the first notices weren't received was because of those four postal workers that were caught storing mail they didn't have time to deliver. These are the same folks who were stealing gift cards out of the mail. He even included the Tampa Trib article about their arrest in his email. At 4:40pm, Bart Weiss, the Assistant Director at WRS, called to say that the erroneous Final Notices were sent because of a "computer/database" mistake - which is a lot more plausible than blaming it on the four post office employees. The worrisome thing about this is that Bob DiCecco didn't have a clue as to what was going on (and he's the one who signed the letter) or else he lied on purpose - which wouldn't be the first time! I sure hope these water department folks know more about making water safe to drink than they know about sending out notices. New County Policy! The county has recently announced that it is revising its backflow valve policy and is now in the planning stage for a program to be ready by Fall of 2009 that will lessen the initial cost of the valves to homeowners and once installed, the county will then assume full responsibility for the annual testing, maintenance and replacement of most backflow valves. To read an update of the new policy and how it will work, please click here. Website Index: General Information: Introduction Cross-connection Plumbing: Why Are There Cross-Connections? Terrorism and Backflow Valves! The following information about the vulnerability of backflow valves is well known. For example, an internal June 4, 2007, Department of Health email from Bob Vincent to Cindy Morris says: "Backflow devices are just one of many entry points to disable a Public Water Supply. I have heard of a backflow contamination incident several years ago at a courthouse in Orlando." Get Involved! Compendium of Citizens' ConcernsCross Connection Control Board Implementing Legislation Webmaster Introduction: The Backflow Valve Controversy involves all homes in Hillsborough County, Florida that pump from a pond or well to water their lawns. It does not apply to homes that use city or county water to irrigate their lawns. It does not apply to homes that use reclaimed water to irrigate their lawns. It does not apply to Home Owners Associations and mobile home parks that have a common pump to irrigate all the lawns. But, if you have your own pump, you will eventually be buying a $600 backflow valve, unless you can help me get the law changed! The intent of this website is to inform you about cross-connections and backflow valves and to encourage you to write letters (or emails or phone calls) to get the law changed. Please click here for my idea of a draft version of possible legislative changes. My wife says this website is too long and too full of information. So, before you doze off... Please note that:
But you do need to write letters to get the law changed! Alert! Be very careful about calling Hillsborough County for backflow valve information and giving your name or address! As you work your way through this website, you'll learn that a County employee named Robert DiCecco is in charge of backflow inspections. As such, he is not a very nice person. Case in point: One resident made the mistake of calling DiCecco with a simple question about irrigation systems. DiCecco then turned around and called a plumber friend, who then appeared at the resident's home the next day offering to install a backflow valve for $695! And to add insult to injury, DiCecco then went on to cite all of the man's neighbors who pump out of the same lake. DiCecco's permit office only works four days a week because of a drop in building permit requests. Is DiCecco trying to get more permit business to boost revenues? Is he on the take? Whatever the reason, his behavior stinks to high heaven. His antics are more becoming of the Gestapo than of Hillsborough County. But let the warning be clear - Be very, very careful when dealing with Hillsborough County - and particularly with DiCecco - on this matter! Background: W.C. Fields did not drink water because of what fish do in it. In case a plumber, irrigation contractor, a former owner or even you accidentally cross-connected your irrigation system to your drinking water supply, you too may be drinking that sort of water. So, the United States Environmental Protection Agency, the Florida Dep't of Environmental Protection and your county have had recommendations, rules and ordinances in place for several years which requires the separation of your drinking water from your irrigation system, which makes sense.
The bureaucratic concern is that sometime in the future, your irrigation system may accidentally be cross-connected to your drinking water so that you would be drinking lake or well water instead of city or county water. Plus, if your pump's pressure is greater than the county's pressure, your lake or well water could backfeed into the neighborhood's water lines unless you have a backflow valve. It doesn't matter that you can prove absolutely that your irrigation system is not cross-connected to your drinking water, you will be buying that valve! And to add insult to injury, you will then have to pay for yearly inspections to insure the valve is still working. The rules were promulgated by the Florida Department of Environment Protection (DEP). All counties are required to follow their rules. The rules were adopted without considering the financial impact on Floridians, especially the elderly. The rules were adopted without considering the valve's vulnerabilities. They're easy to steal. They're easy to tamper with. In fact, backflow valves provide direct and easy access to the water supply. Backflow valves in residential areas are a dream come true for terrorists, vandals and disgruntled people. To view the Florida Dep't of Environmental Protection's Rule 62-555.360, click here. To view the Hillsborough County backflow valve ordinance 03-6, click here. To view the Ordinances for any county in Florida, click here. The purpose of the ordinances and the DEP's rule is to keep polluted water (poor quality but not a health hazard) and contaminated water (a true health hazard) from backflowing into the neighborhood's drinking water. Polluted water is commonly associated with residential areas that have irrigation systems that use a lake or well and that have garden hoses - like a garden hose laying in a swimming pool, child's pool, laundry tub, bucket, puddle, etc. Contaminated water tends to be evil liquids associated with industrial operations and farms. Farmers seem to have most of the cross-connection problems, since all of their water systems - drinking, animal watering, water for mixing chemicals, irrigation, etc. - operate from a single well and are often jerry-rigged. A backflow can be created by pressure on the home side, like from an irrigation lake or well pump, or by a drop in pressure on the street side, like from a broken water main or fire hydrant usage. The backflow valve ordinance was not enforced for a number of years. And often, homeowners and irrigation contractors would not pull a permit because of the hassle and cost. Since "9/11", inspections and compliance has been stepped-up because someone who was bent on wrongdoing could easily backfeed lethal chemicals and bio-toxins into the drinking water system by way of the backflow valves - which pretty much sums-up why tens of thousands of them should not be installed in residential areas.
Current Events: I live in a retirement community called Sun City Center. It is 20 miles south of Tampa in Hillsborough County. Some of the homes here have their own pumps connected to ponds and wells to get lawn irrigation water. Many of the pumps were installed by private contractors or by the home owners themselves. Recently, the County discovered that one of these homes had their lake water system tied into their drinking water supply. That means that if the pump was running and if its pumping pressure was greater than the County's water line pressure (60-75 psi) which is very unlikely and if there was no sprinkler head pressure loss, some well or pump water could flow back into the street line.
The upshot of this recent event is that Hillsborough County is now checking the water systems for nearby homes to make sure that their lake and well pumps aren't feeding contaminated water back into the neighborhood's drinking water system. The point man for these matters in Hillsborough County is Robert DiCecco (pronounced d-check-o), Cross-Connection Control Coordinator, (813) 635-7370, diceccor@hillsboroughcounty.org . DiCecco intends to issue Notices Of Violation to all homes in Sun City Center and to all homes in the County, that have their own irrigation pump, even if there is no cross-connection. Considering that Sun City Center has over 80 ponds, which most of the surrounding homes pump out of, we're talking at least a thousand homes here that will ultimately be affected. Since the Dep't of Environmental Protection's rules apply to the whole state of Florida, millions of homes will be affected. So the DiCecco look-alike in your county will be issuing Notices of Violation to any home in your area that has its own irrigation pump! DiCecco is going to every home that pumps lawn irrigation water from a lake or well. He doesn't inspect to see if you have a cross-connection. He just "inspects" to see if you pump out of a lake or well. When he finds that the home has its own pump, he issues two Notices of Violation - one for a cross-connection inspection within 48 hours and the other is for you to contract for the installation of a backflow valve within a month. The Notices are not issued because the homes have a cross-connection, but simply because they pump their irrigation water from a well or lake. So far, a dozen or so homes in the St. Andrews section have received the two Notices of Violation - that was in May. In August, DiCecco issued Notices to forty homes in the Symphony Isles section of Apollo Beach. DiCecco's method of delivering the two Notices is rather unique. He is prohibited by postal regulations from leaving them in mail boxes, so he's been tucking them into screen doors. In one instance, they blew away and were discovered in the middle of the road. In another, the lady discovered them in her flower bed. And since 20-25% of Sun City Center residents are snowbirds, it will be months before some residents even find the Notices - if they haven't blown away by then. And yet, Mr. DiCecco is going to turn off their water and perhaps cause damage to the home's plumbing. The bizarre thing about this is that Ordinance 03-6, Sections 4.2.1 & 4.3.1, mandates that the Notices be sent by mail. I wonder if the fact that he's not even obeying the County's own "rules for service" makes his Notices no more than a fart in the wind? The first Notice of Violation gives a home 48 hours to have a licensed plumber inspect, correct if needed and then certify to the County that there is no cross-connection. The cost for this will probably be the cost of a service call - $88 or less. But if a cross-connection is found, then the price goes up because of the additional materials and labor to cap-off the systems to isolate them from each other. The additional cost will also include getting a permit from the County. If nothing is done within a week or so, like the Notices blow away or you're a snowbird, the inspector makes another effort to contact you. If you still can't be reached, he turns off your water! Please note that the first Notice of Violation for the 48-hour inspection and capping of any possible cross-connection will not be allowed to slide. Your water will be turned off. And no matter whether you have a cross-connection or not, the second Notice of Violation gives a home owner with a pump one month (21 working days) in which to contract for the installation of a backflow prevention valve, at a cost of $450 to $700, or else your drinking water will be turned-off. I don't know where DiCecco came up with the "21 working days" thing, because Ordinance 03-6, Section 4.3.2 states quite clearly that it should be 90 days! To read the Hillsborough County Notice of Violation requiring the 48-hour inspection, click here. To read the Hillsborough County Notice Of Violation requiring the installation of the backflow valve, click here. One of the manufacturers of the backflow valves has prepared a slick "Frequently Asked Questions" pamphlet about cross connections. Note that it does not discuss the financial impact on the elderly and the fact that backflow valves in residential areas don't protect public health and safety, they jeopardize it. Backflow valves in residential areas are a dream come true for terrorists, vandals and disgruntled people. To view the pamphlet, click here. And once the backflow valve is installed, the rules require a yearly inspection thereafter by a certified inspector. See the next item.
Costs for Valves & Yearly Inspections: The cost to install the valves keeps coming down. It now runs from $325 to $695 for a 3/4" valve. A bigger valve, like 1", is not better because it has bigger springs and produces a slight hesitation and costs more for parts to fix when it goes bad. The valves manufactured by Watts are the most common and the easiest to get repair parts for. The $325 price is from Coggins Plumbing (671-5931) if there are three or more in an area. The reports are that he is conscientious about his workmanship. Reedy Plumbing is charging around $450 to $475 which is about $100 too much. The inspectors tend to charge whatever the traffic will bear. According to the state official that runs the inspection program, one woman was charged $485 for an inspection. So he now requires all new inspectors to sign an ethics agreement - which gives you a clue that inspectors aren't always on the up-and-up! And in our area, there is one inspector who always finds a high-percentage of valves to fail and then require part$. He is none of the following that are mentioned. The cost of the annual inspections is coming down. For a list of all the backflow valve testers in our area, click here and select Hillsborough County. Note the 8th column over headed "Repair #". The valves often fail to pass simply because of debris in the pistons and O-rings. Those testers with a Repair # are permitted to take the valve apart and clean out any sand that has gotten into the O-rings and to replace parts. Because of Florida water and the heat, the valves break every three years and the parts kit is around $100 to fix them. So, if a cleaning doesn't fix the valve, you'll be on the hook for more money. When you call the different testers for a quote, in addition to the (1) basic test, find out what a (2) test-cleaning-test will cost, and the cost to (3) test - install a new parts kit - test will cost.
If you are a plumber or inspector with firm rates, I will be happy to post them here. If you are a resident with good or bad experiences with particular backflow plumbers or inspectors, let me know. Email me: dbrown28@tampabay.rr.com
Media Coverage: We have been blessed with media coverage.
To view some of the articles, click here.
The Fourteenth Amendment. Hillsborough County, under the mandate and authority of Florida, requires home owners to install a $600 backflow valve adjacent to the water meter, if they pump water from a pond or well to irrigate their lawns. And yet, homes without a pump are not required to install the $600 backflow valve. The Fourteenth Amendment (Section 1) provides for "equal protection of the laws." "Section. 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws." The State of Florida's Statutes, like 403.851, and Administrative Rules, like 62-550.102, declare that Hillsborough County is responsible for protecting the quality of the drinking water to all of us. But only those homes with pumps are being singled out for the mandated installation of the $600 backflow valves. Garden hoses are actually the main culprit for "potential" residential backflow problems. The County notes in its literature that 'the ordinary garden hose is the most common offender of cross-connection because it can easily be connected to the drinking water supply and used for a variety of potentially dangerous applications.' So, if my neighbor who doesn't have a pump, and therefore doesn't have a backflow valve, were to leave an ordinary garden hose in the bucket where she was mixing an evil pesticide and there was negative pressure in the County's lines, the chemical would backflow into the public drinking water and then into my drinking water. Whereas if I (with a pump and therefore a mandated backflow valve) were to leave a hose in the bucket, the pesticide could not backflow to my neighbor. Hillsborough County is absolutely responsible for protecting the quality of the drinking water to all of us and for abiding by the Fourteenth Amendment.. The Fourteenth Amendment prohibits laws that discriminate. I am being discriminated against because I am not being equally protected under the law for the quality of my drinking water. My neighbor's drinking water quality is being protected against my garden hose exploits. But my drinking water quality is not being protected against her garden hose exploits. She is getting more protection from the law than I am, i.e., because of the way that the County and State laws are written and applied, my neighbor's water quality is protected against my pesticide mixing activities, but my own drinking water's quality is certainly not protected against her pesticide mixing activities. Since the County is "responsible for the quality of the public water supply," the Fourteenth Amendment mandates that the County and State laws should protect me and my neighbor equally. Valve types vary in their ability to protect the quality of the water. For example, a double-check valve protects better than a single-check valve. The quality of the Hillsborough County drinking water is only as good as the worst type of valve that is installed. The equality guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment can only be achieved by laws that mandate that everybody in the County install the same type of backflow valve in the same manner so that everyone is equally protected. If we're all to be protected equally, as mandated by the Fourteenth Amendment, then everyone on the County's water system must be required to install the $600 backflow valve adjacent to the water meter, because of the potential that each and every home has to contaminate the water supply.
The EPA's Cross-Connection Control Manual! The Environmental Protection Agency is God when it comes to cross-connections. And their bible is the "Cross-connection Control Manual." Bob Larson, a resident of Sun City Center, pointed out to me that in Chapter 6 on page 31, it states: "A recommended plan of action for a cross-connection control program should include the following characteristics: ... (10) As water meters are repaired or replaced at residences, insure that a residential dual check backflow preventer is set with the new or reworked water meter." The federal government's "recommended plan of action for a cross-connection control program" is diametrically opposed to DiCecco's recently inspired crusade to make us install $600 valves in this part of the County. The federal government considers a dual check valve, set with the water meter, as sufficient for cross-connection control. The EPA's Cross-connection Control Manual is available on the internet. You'll want to look for Chapter Six, page 31, lower right - after clicking
here.
Why Are There Cross-Connections? There are three main reasons for cross-connections: First is that the plumbing was installed by a person who left an always-open direct connection between the pump and the County's water supply. This would be manifest by irrigation heads that were always spouting water. Second is that the system is relying on inadequate protection such as a single valve or other mechanical/electrical device such as a solenoid valve. Third, and the most prevalent (95% according to the County), are known connections that allow the irrigation system to be fed by either County water or lake or well water. Here is how the typical Sun City Center plumbing system was laid out when it was first installed.
Then an owner, along the way, decided to save money (and save the County's water resources) by getting his water from a lake or well, so he had a pump installed. For flexibility, he added a couple of ball valves so that he could feed the irrigation system from the County's water or from his lake or well.
Back to the top. Do-It-Yourself Check For Cross-Connections. There are two ways that you can informally check for a cross-connected system. The first is to simply walk around the outside of your home and look very carefully for the two ball valves located a foot or so apart.
If you find them, that means that your setup has the flexibility to irrigate from either the County water or from your lake or well. Unfortunately, as good as that concept sounds, it means you have a cross-connection capability. A ball valve is "on" when the handle is in line with the pipe, like the valve at the left. It is "off" when the handle is cross-ways to the pipe. If both valves are open, even a little bit, then the pump can force lake or well water back into the drinking water supply, provided the pump's pressure is greater than the County's pressure, which is 60 to 75 psi. The second method is to turn-off the electricity to the pump. Then run your irrigation control through all the lawn zones. If any water comes out, it is County water and you've got a cross-connection! These tests are not conclusive, but they're about what the licensed plumber will do for the 48-hour Notice of Violation.
Four Types of Backflow Valves: There are a number of backflow prevention devices that keep cross-connected polluted water from one home from flowing backwards into the street line where it can contaminate the whole neighborhood. Here are the four main types used in residential areas. A Vacuum Breaker should be attached to each outside faucet. More information. A Pressure Vacuum Breaker is used when County water is used for irrigation. More information. A Dual Check Valve is used when Reclaimed water is used for irrigation. More information. The fourth type of backflow valve is a Reduced Pressure Zone Backflow Preventer Valve (RPZ Valve). This is what millions of us here in Florida will be forced to install, even though we have done nothing wrong!
Notice the four test nipples on top that terrorists, vandals and disgruntled people can use to inject lethal chemicals and bio-toxins into a neighborhood's drinking water supply.
This type of valve is supposed to be more dependable than a dual-check valve when it is working properly. Unfortunately, it has a number of moving parts, like springs and pistons, which can fail. Which is why they need a yearly inspection. It is mounted above the ground and right next to the water meter which is probably on the property line between your lawn and the sidewalk. This is what the $600 valves look like in front of a couple of recently built homes in Apollo Beach.
These valves are above ground and in an exposed location at the front of your lawn. They will probably burst when we get our next hard freeze. Thieves love the valves because they are easy to steal. They weigh 15 pounds. Their high brass and copper content will fetch from $22.50 (brass at $1.50 per lb.) to $39.30 (copper at $2.62 per lb.) at the scrap yard.
Four Ways to Tamper with a Backflow Valve! The first way to tamper with a valve is just a bit of innocent "fun." Walk down a street at night and turn the ball valves on all the backflow valves to a cross-position to turn off the water to the homes. That way, when the little old ladies wake up in the morning, they won't have any water. Oh, what jolly fun! (Kids actually do this in Tampa.) The second way to tamper with a valve is to remove any Test Cock Locks that the owner might have installed, foolishly thinking they would "tamper proof" the valve.
Four Test Cock Locks (which cost about $50 each) are screwed into the four test cocks along the top of the valve. The locks have two parts, as in the left picture. In the unlocked position, the two parts are joined together so that the lock can be screwed into the test cock. Then the key is inserted and turned (middle picture) which makes the top part become free-wheeling, so that the lock can't be backed-out of the test cock. But, all it takes is a few drops of Super Glue (right picture) and the two parts become joined again so that the lock can be unscrewed and removed. There are several different styles of test cock locks, but all of them that I've seen can be defeated with a drop or two of Super Glue - which leads to... The third way to tamper with a valve is to use it to backfeed lethal chemicals and bio-toxins directly into the neighborhood's water supply. You may find the following discussion a bit risqué. But you have to keep in mind that Inspector DiCecco has been telling the Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners that: "Contamination of the water distribution system by means of the backflow prevention assembly is unlikely, as it would require access to the assembly for an extended period of time and setting up very expensive equipment." This is a picture of a show-and-tell backflow valve which I tote around to give demonstrations. The rig with the red pressure container and hose was built to show just how easily the ports on the valve can be used to backflow lethal chemicals and bio-toxins into the County's water supply (at the lower left) in just a few seconds, using very inexpensive equipment. As unlikely as DiCecco thinks it might be, this $30 rig is made out of parts from Walmart, Home Depot and Ace Hardware. And as unlikely as DiCecco thinks it might be, in less than thirty seconds, one can drive up to a valve, connect the rig, backflow lethal chemicals and bio-toxins into the neighborhood's drinking water supply, and drive off.
I load this demo rig with 3 cups of KoolAid and then pressurize it to 130 psi. When I turn the red lever, the KoolAid gushes into the container at the lower left labeled "Hillsborough County Water Supply." It drives home the vulnerability of backflow valves. But I've been thinking of putting together a more impressive version that would have a larger pressure vessel and use a paint ball gun cartridge for the propellant, i.e., 11 cubit feet of CO2 at a constant pressure of 300 psi almost to the end. That would really make a whoosh, wouldn't it. Paul Vanderploog, the Director of the Hillsborough County Water Resource Services wrote me in a 6/8/07 email: "From a water system perspective, your demonstration is informative, but not new to the professionals who operate our systems." Actually, I understand that a larger version of this rig is often used at terrorism conferences to demonstrate the vulnerability of the drinking water supply. Typically, it is made out of the mineral tank for a home water neutralizer, because it can hold a large amount of liquid, can withstand the pressure and has the perfect plumbing. The Homeland Security Act seeks to provide "critical infrastructure protection." On the other hand, the United States Environmental Protection Agency, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and Hillsborough County are creating the ideal conditions for members of a terrorist cell or a disgruntled person to inject lethal chemicals and bio-toxins into our drinking water supply. Imagine the havoc and lingering effects that will be caused by members of a terrorist cell, or some nut-case seeking importance and recognition, driving around the quiet neighborhoods of Hillsborough County in the middle of the night and randomly injecting lethal chemicals and bio-toxins into our drinking water supply through the backflow valves. And they really wouldn't have to kill very many people - just make them sick. It's the fear factor that counts. Remember that it was just one man that had explosives in his shoe back in 2001 - and since then, billions of air-travelers have had to take off their shoes to pass through airport security. The county's water resources are currently secured with high-tech fences, guards and realtime monitoring of the water quality as it leaves the water works. In the future all this security will serve no purpose! The county's water resources are going to consist of tens of thousands of facilities, i.e., access valves in peoples' front yards, waiting to provide a direct and easy way to insert lethal chemicals and bio-toxins into our drinking water supply. Instead of the valves' protecting us, they expose us to even more danger. Remember that backflow valves in residential areas are a dream come true for terrorists, vandals and disgruntled people. When DiCecco tells the County Commissioners that "Contamination of the water distribution system by means of the backflow prevention assembly is unlikely, as it would require access to the assembly for an extended period of time and setting up very expensive equipment," he's certainly being less than truthful! In fact, in the same breath that he is misleading the Commissioners, he, as the spokesman for Hillsborough County on this matter, is aiding the agenda of terrorists, vandals and disgruntled people by encouraging the installation of yet more valves. If you live within ten or fifteen miles of Sun City Center, I would be pleased to come and speak to your group about backflow valves. Give me a call at (813) 634-6048. The fourth way to tamper with a valve is to simple steal it and sell it to a junk yard. All of the installed valves that I have seen are attached to the risers with two union joints, which are easily unscrewed. And given that outsiders come into our community and even steal golf carts, you don't have to be a rocket scientist to deduce that they're going to be stealing the valves. The valves weigh about 15 lbs! That makes their value somewhere between $22.50 (brass at $1.50 per lb.) and $39.30 (copper at $2.62 per lb.). That would be in line with the TV news clip about stealing backflow valves. And if you want to read an article from the Bradenton Herald about how thieves recently stole the backflow valve from behind the Manatee Sheriff's Office, click here. Each backflow valve comes with a serial number which a junk yard is supposed to report to the police. But if the thieves can't find a shady junk yard operator, they simply crush or melt the valves down into ingots which any junk dealer will buy. To learn more about how easy it is to melt down backflow valves into ingots, go to http://www.backyardmetalcasting.com/.
Local Targets of Opportunity! Backflow valves provide direct and easy access to the County's drinking water supply for terrorists, vandals and disgruntled people. I decided to check my local area to see if there were any backflow valves on County property that are located where DiCecco is forcing us to locate ours. Here are some that I found! These four pictures are of the South Shore Regional Sevice Center on 30th Avenue in Ruskin. And there, by golly, are the backflow valves on the front lawn - just waiting for a terrorist or disgruntled person to come along in the middle of the night and inject a lethal chemical, like Orthene, or a bio-toxin, like E.coli laden poo, into the drinking water or for a vandal to steal the valves by unscrewing the union connections. Easy as pie!
As an aside, and in connection with using Orthene as a lethal chemical: A 12-ounce can of Orthene powder makes 100 gallons of pesticide. But for a terrorist or disgruntled person, it isn't necessary to mix-up 100 gallons. Just make a slurry out of the can's contents and inject that. Let the County's water flow do the additional mixing. Back to the top. A Novel About Backflow Valves And Terrorism? Is there a spy thriller in the idea of someone's backflowing lethal chemicals and bio-toxins into a large metropolitan area's drinking water? Click here for the plot line.
Compendium of Citizens' Concerns! The Hillsborough Board of County Commissioners directed that Peter Aluotto, Director of Planning and Growth Management, was to answer our concerns by September 6 (BOCC Agenda Item AA49659). I put out a solicitation for concerns. Over two dozen people replied. I combined the concerns into a 38-page Compendium of Citizens' Concerns that has over 250 concerns. Once Aluotto saw the document, he said that he would only answer the easy concerns - which is a perfect example of stonewalling. For God's sakes, this man is Director of Planning and Growth Management. Does he skip out when the County Commissioners ask him hard questions? If so, and as the County attempts to downsize, that's a position that could be eliminated with no great loss. I hope he'll answer all 250 of our concerns, but I sure won't bet the farm on it! To view the Compedium of Citizens' Concerns, drink some strong black coffee and then click here.
Go Thou And Write Letters! What can we do as individuals? We can write letters! And don't forget: If you get socked with the $600 charge and the cost of the yearly inspections or if you die from something the terrorists put in the drinking water by way of the backflow valves and you didn't write any letters, galaxy law forbids you from ever complaining - ever! Please write to the Secretary of the Florida Dep't of Environmental Protection., our elected representatives, our county officials, the government people involved and to the newspapers and TV stations and tell them what you think about being required to buy the $600 valve. Government officials ignore form letters (and petitions). Having read through the website and thinking about how the forced installation of a backflow valve will affect you personally, choose one or more of the points below and write about it. Please do not just do a "copy" and "paste" of the points. If we can't persuade the "powers that be" to change the law, it's going to cost each of us $600 to comply. That should be a strong enough incentive to take the time to compose a letter from the heart and spend $1.64 for four stamps. Give the letter a Subject that includes the word "backflow" plus whatever you might want to express. Don't threaten - they already know that if they don't come through for us, they'll lose our vote in the next election. Don't rant & rave - be civil. And keep it short - long letters don't get read in their entirety. If you think DiCecco will hunt you down for writing letters, don't sign the letter with your name and address - and say that you fear retribution. And retribution is not out of the question: One resident made the mistake of calling DiCecco who then called a plumber friend, who then appeared at the resident's home the next day offering to install a backflow valve for $695! And then DiCecco cited the man's neighbors who pump out of the same lake! Some points that you could make are that you don't like the idea of being forced to buy the backflow valve because:
Letters are better. But if you want to use email, the easiest way to compose and then send email letters is to compose them in your favorite word processor program. When your letter is perfect, click on Edit > Select All, which will highlight everything. Then click on Edit > Copy, which will put you letter into the "scratch-pad" where it becomes available to all other programs. Click on one of the options below and you will be presented with an empty email form that has the names of the recipients. Give the email a title with the word "backflow" in it plus whatever you might want to add. Tab down to the message area. Click on Edit > Paste, and your letter will appear in the message area. If you don't understand these instructions, ask your child or grandchild for help. If you live in Sun City Center, click here here to go to a page tailored with the contact information for our specific area. Your first and most important letter should go to Michael Sole. The Florida Statutes give him the authority to decide when it is not necessary to install a backflow valve. Here is his contact information: Michael W. Sole, Secretary Your second letter should go to Governor Crist. He is Michael Sole's boss. Here is the Governor's contact information.
Your third letter should go to your State Senator who can work to change the Florida Statutes, to guide the authority of Micahel Sole. You can locate the contact information for him/her by clicking here. Your fourth letter should go to your State Representative who can work to change the Florida Statutes, to affect the authority of Micahel Sole. You can locate the contact information for him/her by clicking here. Your remaining letters should go to your local elected officials. Here in Hillsborough County we have seven Commissioners. Four of them (Ferlita, Hagan, White & Higginbotham) are assigned to specific districts. And three of them (Norman, Blair & Sharpe) are at-large and represent everybody. The same address is used for all the Commissioners: Hillsborough County Commissioners To send the same email to your particular Hillsborough County Commissioner, the three At Large Commissioners, the County Administrator and all the County and State officials who should be concerned with backflow valves, just click on the particular Commissioner's name who serves your District. DiCecco will not be included as one of the recipients because of his Gestapo tactics of issuing a citation if you contact him for any reason: Rose Ferlita, Ken Hagan, Kevin White, or Al Higginbotham. Please note that the generated email form for a County Commissioner will not include the Governor and your State Senator and Representative, so they'll have to be done separately. It is important to write to those three because they are the ones who can change the law to keep backflow valves out of residential areas. If you want to send a Letter To The Editor to a newspaper (and please keep in mind that newspapers prefer short, succinct letters), click: The Tampa Tribune , The St. Petersburg Times , The SCC Observer & Observer News , The Sun & South Shore News or The News of Sun City Center or All five newspapers. You might want to suggest to your favorite TV station that requiring backflow valves in residential areas is something that should be investigated. I think all of the Tampa-St. Pete stations have a Contact Form on their station's website for their investigative team. You could suggest http://cbs13.com/video/?id=18545@kovr.dayport.com&cid=6 as a news story about backflow valves that was done by a TV station out in California. And you may certainly cite my page, http://www.suncitydave.info/backflow.htm , as a source for background material. For the contact information for every government official involved, click here.
What Can We Do As A Community? I recognize the value of backflow valves in factories and on farms. But it seems like bureaucratic overkill to require the installation of the valves for every home in a residential area that uses lake or well water for irrigation, on the remote possibility of a future cross-connection. Backflow valves in residential areas are a dream come true for terrorists, vandals and disgruntled people. The economic cost to Floridians will be devastating. It will probably cost over a million dollars for just our small community to comply with the part of the ordinance requiring the installation of the valves. Many here get by on Social Security. To require us to give up half-a-month's, or more, money to buy a plumbing part instead of our medicines is cruel and sadistic on the part of the government. We need the Department of Environmental Protection and the Board of County Commissions to change the rules and ordinance to allow compliance if it can be simply shown that a residential home's irrigation and drinking systems are not connected. We need to get all the agencies concerned with Homeland Security to recognize that these backflow valves give terrorists direct and easy access to the County's water supply. We need to get all the agencies concerned with the cruel treatment of the elderly to speak out about the financial impact of our being forced to install these valves. We need to get our State Senators and Representatives to introduce legislation to change 403.086(8) F.S. for residential areas, so that an inspection showing that a home's irrigation and drinking systems are not cross-connected, satisfies compliance. The Key West Florida Water Department installs and maintains the valves as part of their service. Perhaps the County Commissioners and the Dep't of Environmental Protection could change the ordinance and rules to have the Water Resources Services install the valve anytime they change out the butter-fly valve or meter for a home and think it necessary. We need for the cross-connection inspection to be done by the County as a courtesy. When I was giving a talk about backflow valves and used the word "courtesy," a member of the audience interrupted to say that the County is responsible for providing clean water to us, so they are obligated to assume the responsibility and do the inspections - not as a courtesy but as part of their mandate. We can go to the next Cross Connection, Backflow and Back-Siphonage Control Board meeting, en masse, and hit them with our walkers and canes, tie them up with our surgical stockings and hold them for ransom. And we certainly need lots and lots of media coverage about how the Hillsborough County Building Services Division and Florida Department of Environmental Protection are beating-up on old people! And we certainly need lots and lots of media coverage about how the valves are an open invitation to terrorist and weirdos to poison our water supply. And we need someone with legal expertise to help us get a moritorium and maybe bring pressure against Hillsborough County. Are there any lawyers out there who feel there is injustice in what the County is doing and would volunteer their services?
What Can the County and State of Florida do? Here are a number of ideas submitted by several different residents. If you can think of any more approaches to the problem, please let me know by sending me an email by clicking --> dbrown28@tampabay.rr.com
Back to the top. Cross Connection, Backflow and Back-Siphonage Control Board: The County has a "Cross Connection, Backflow and Back-Siphonage Control Board" that is supposed to be concerned about customer's complaints. Judging by the minutes of their meetings, they seem to worry a lot about developers and contractors who use County water without paying for it or don't use backflow devices. To view their webpage, click here.
The contact for that group is Carl Conte of the Hillsborough County Building Services Division (272-5920, ext. 39330). Their next meeting will be in September at NetPark.
Implementing Legislation. To view the Hillsborough County Ordinance 03-6, click here. To view all Hillsborough County ordinances, click here. To view the Florida Dep't of Environmental Protection's Rule 62-555.360, which takes precedent over the Hillsborough County ordinance, click here. To view the Homeland Security Act, click here. The Florida law which gives you access to all public documents is the "Public Records Law," Chapter 119 of the Florida Statutes. This law provides that any records made or received by any public agency in the course of its official business are available for inspection. Florida's Sunshine Law can be found in Chapter 286 of the Florida Statutes. It establishes a basic right of access to most meetings of boards, commissions and other governing bodies of state and local governmental agencies or authorities. Section 839.13 of the Florida Statutes is related to civil servants' falsifying records - it's not allowed. You can view all of Florida's Statutes, Laws and Constitution online at www.leg.state.fl.us
Webmaster. David BrownBack to the top. Go thou and write those letters!
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