Thinking outside the utility vault means installing your backflow preventer in an insulated above-ground insulated backflow enclosure. Unfortunately, many backflow preventers are installed underground in utility vaults. This, incidentally, increases the risk of cross-connection and the dangers for the people who test, inspect or service backflow preventers.
Backflow preventers are critical to protecting our water supply. They keep contaminated water from interacting with drinking water, preventing cross-connection.
Approved backflow prevention assemblies are required by law in many jurisdictions, and must be installed in accordance with plumbing or building codes. A typical backflow assembly has test cocks and shut-off valves and must be tested when installed if it’s relocated or repaired it must be tested periodically.
It’s vital to keep backflow preventers protected and running efficiently to protect our potable water supply.
Backflow preventers were originally installed in utility vaults because people thought they were the safest place for them — protected from the weather and from vandals. We now know this is not the case.
Utility vaults are dangerous for a number of reasons — the most important being that they put lives at risk. OSHA considers the utility vault a confined space and, according to experts, the risks include:
OSHA data indicates that the number of deaths in confined spaces have been steadily increasing over the last 15 years.
It’s not just the presence of noxious gases that pose a threat. These deaths can be caused by oxygen deficiency, combustible dust, electrocution, even radiation.
“I've heard a hundred stories across the country of people jumping down into a vault and immediately dropping dead. And if they have somebody with them, they jump down there to help them and they die immediately,” said Cary Wiley, Safe-T-Cover Vice President of Sales and Marketing.
“Any kind of underground vault carries a risk of naturally occurring odorless gases building up; many of which are harmful. The inherent risks of spending any amount of time down in a vault being exposed to these gases can easily be avoided,” said Safe-T-Cover President Chris Ryckman.
He added: “What’s even more concerning to me is the risk of entrapment: there are instances where inspectors have died due to being trapped down in a vault.”
In addition to death, confined spaces are said to cause nearly 11,000 injuries each year — many of them serious. According to OSHA statistics, they include:
Backflow preventer test personnel may also encounter dangerous animals like snakes in a utility vault.
Another major concern is that many utility vaults flood. The meter vault seen in the video is completely flooded, significantly increasing the risk of a cross-connection. “All that stagnant, dirty, muddy, horrible water can get sucked through the test cocks of the backflow preventer and into your clean drinking water,” Wiley said.
Ryckman added, “Anytime you submerge a valve designed to keep the bad water from mixing with the good water, you run the risk of exposure. Even a small leak can easily introduce that bad water into the potable water system.”
In short, when things go wrong in a vault, they can go horribly wrong. This is why more and more water jurisdictions are mandating installing backflow preventers above-ground in a backflow enclosure.
Safe-T-Cover is asking designers and engineers across the country to Think Outside the Vault. We now know that above-ground insulated backflow enclosures offer the safest and most cost-effective way to protect your equipment. A growing number of municipalities, local utility authorities and states agree, and are moving to require above-ground installation.
Installing backflow preventers and meters in utility vaults is an unnecessary liability for water jurisdictions, so we’re encouraging the safer and more cost-effective approach. It just makes good sense.
Stop putting your employees and the community at risk. Watch our video and download our free infographic that compares the benefits of installing your backflow preventer in an above-ground enclosure versus a confined space like a utility vault.
As the term suggests, a utility vault is a below-grade confined space in which utility equipment such as pumps, backflows or control valves are housed.
Vaults flood and trap poisonous gas. Numerous deaths every year are attributed to drowning, asphyxiation or electrocution inside a utility vault. Vaults also can be home to animals like poisonous snakes.
Absolutely not! Water always finds its way into below-ground confined spaces.
Utility vaults are dangerous confined spaces, prone to flooding, susceptible to animal and insectt infestation and provide only limited access for servicing and repair. A Safe-T-Cover above-ground enclosure is modular, insulated to protect against extreme weather, braced with sustainably harvested redwood and available with slab-mounted heat. Our available patented MUNI-LOK vault key system also provides leading security for your equipment against theft or vandalism. In addition, many jurisdictions are mandating that backflows be enclosed above grade, effectively barring the use of vaults.
Safe-T-Cover offers ASSE 1060-certified aluminum enclosures made specifically to fit the dimensions around major waterworks manufacturers’ equipment.
Yes! Simply fill out this form and one of our design professionals will contact you to discuss your specific needs.
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