This year, August 16 was the fifth annual National Backflow Prevention Day. It is a day to celebrate everyone who works behind the scenes to protect the water systems we depend on each and every day. On this day, we celebrate the plumbers, pipefitters, and sprinkler fitters who build and maintain the water systems within our facilities. Included are the waste and water industry people who process our water and send it out for delivery to our homes and businesses. We have certified backflow testers and specialists, inspectors, educators, manufacturers, designers, code developers … the list goes on. All of these people are working to ensure the end user receives clean and safe potable water from the source to the last free flowing tap in any system.
Every day is another chance to educate the industry and the general public on the importance of backflow prevention and cross-connection control. The day chosen as National Backflow Prevention Day is not an anniversary of success, it is an anniversary of a mistake — a failure in the system. It’s the anniversary of a cross-connection that allowed backflow to occur, which resulted in the death of at least 98 people and the serious illness of more than 1,500 people at the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair. This event was one of the deadliest backflow incidents to ever occur in the United States. The decision to use this date, this anniversary of tragedy, was to make it clear that we need to always be vigilant, to always be forward thinking, and to always promote the importance of cross-connection control and backflow prevention programs.
For those of us in this industry, August 16 is a day to reflect on how far we’ve come since 1933, to reflect on how much illness and death our work has prevented, and to reflect on how our work has made economic growth and progress possible, has helped in cleaning up our environment, and has increased the quality of life for people across our nation. It is also a day for us to look to the future with the understanding that our work is not finished. In truth, it will never be finished since we are the people who establish the programs, monitor our water systems, and ensure continued protection of our water systems. As systems continue to become more complicated, and as the use of alternate water systems expands, the importance of cross-connection control and backflow prevention is more critical than ever. Now is not the time to rest; it is the time to double our efforts to ensure the proper protection is in place and maintained.
So let us celebrate this day every year and be proud of the work we do. We make a difference in people’s lives every day. People working in the cross-connection control industry do not look for glory or praise; they do it because it is the right thing to do. We protect the health and safety of the nation and are the unsung heroes of water safety.
I am blessed to be able to spend my days at the IAPMO Backflow Prevention Institute instructing people about the importance of cross-connection control and backflow prevention. We work hard to instill a passion in each student and make them understand how critical the work they do is. As we celebrate National Backflow Prevention Day, I would encourage everyone to become more involved in promoting the industry.
Every one of us is an ambassador for our industry. The work we do is far too important for us to do less. John Quincy Adams once said, “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more, and become more, you are a leader.” I hope I have, at least on a small scale, done that for the people I have taught over these many years, I hope you will join me in this effort — become a mentor and a leader in the cross-connection industry.
