Riteway Plumbing tests and installs backflow devices, or RPZ valves. RPZ stands for Reduced Pressure Zone. The most common backflow device found at Minnesota homes is a pressure vacuum breaker, which is found on household water irrigation systems more commonly known as the lawn sprinkler. RPZ valves are necessary in buildings with irrigation systems, fire suppression systems, or large boilers. The RPZ valves prevent the backflow of chemicals, stagnant water and bacteria from entering our water supply. Households can be at risk of contamination in the event of a water leak in a house, house water service break, city water main break, hydrant flushing, hydrant use and more. Anytime the water pressure in a house or city water main drops lower than the water pressure in a system (irrigation, boiler, etc), the systems can back-up into the water supply. Contaminants from lawn fertilizers or pesticides, or stagnant water trapped in boiler or fire suppression systems are at high risk to enter household drinking water. Many people don’t think that RPZ’s are necessary, however, even small fluctuations in city water mains due to uneven water use from one neighbor to the next can cause drops in pressure large enough to cause a back-flow and therefore contamination to occur. A RPZ valve can prevent contaminated water the next time you or a neighbor turns on a faucet. By installing a RPZ valve, any drop in pressure would allow the valve to open and dumping water out of the system, rather than allowing the potentially contaminated water to back-flow into the water supply. Call Riteway Plumbing today for your RPZ installation needs.