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Backflow Hazards From Funeral Homes

Although modern plumbing is becoming increasingly sophisticated, there are still many threats to a community's water supply. Backflow, a phenomenon that occurs when water reverses its direction and flows back to its source, is a major problem within the water distribution industry. Sometimes nonpotable water will backflow into a water supply and contaminate an entire community's potable supply. Funeral homes pose a special risk. These establishments' waste water is contaminated with blood, bodily fluids and hazardous chemicals.

  1. What Is Backflow?

    • Backflow is the reversal of a flowing water system's intended course. Water utility services connect funeral homes and other homes and businesses to a water distribution system. Potable water will ideally flow from the distribution system to the utility's customers. Sometimes this flow inadvertently becomes reversed. When this happens, water flows from the customer's plumbing system back into the distribution system. Plumbing systems are sometimes cross-connected, which means that the potable water system is connected to nonpotable or potentially contaminated water. If a plumbing system is cross-connected and backflow occurs, nonpotable water can flow into the distribution system and contaminate a community's potable water supply.

    What Causes Backflow?

    • Backflow occurs when a public water system's supply drops below its normal pressure level. The water that normally flows to funeral homes and other customers reverses its direction and is siphoned back into the distribution supply. This phenomenon is called backsiphonage. It often happens when a distribution supply pumps water faster than it can replace it, causing a pressure drop. A fire department pumper truck pumping water faster than the distributor can handle is one example of how this can happen. Backflow may also be caused by backpressure, which occurs when the pressure of a customer's plumbing system becomes greater than the distributor's pressure. Broken water mains and flushing water pipes to clean them have also been known to create backflow.

    Safety Issues

    • A funeral home experiencing backflow problems can contaminate a community's potable water supply. Human blood, bodily fluids and embalming chemicals are rinsed down a funeral home's drain. If the facility's pipes are experiencing backflow or other cross-connection problems, these contaminants can make their way to the clean water distribution system that supplies potable water to homes and businesses. The contaminated water enters the potable water supply and is then redistributed back to water utility customers. Communities have experienced deadly typhoid and cholera epidemics in the past because of contamination from funeral home backflow and other toxic sources. Although plumbing safety and techniques have advanced, the risk still exists.

    How Backflow Is Avoided

    • Special steps are taken to prevent backflow from funeral homes. Mortuary establishments are given higher priorities when their plumbing is inspected by municipal entities. Sometimes reduced pressure principle backflow preventers are installed on the water service line to the entire funeral home or on the water line to the room where bodies are prepared for burial. A vacuum breaker may be installed on the water line to prevent backsiphonage, keeping a community's water supply safe from the contaminants found in funeral homes in the event of a backflow situation.

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