BACKFLOW PREVENTION JOURNAL
Protecting our most precious resource
A dedicated resource for professionals in the plumbing industry’s expert sector, offering comprehensive coverage of the policies, practices, technologies, and standards essential to protecting the public water supply.
Our articles provide plumbing industry professionals with comprehensive coverage of backflow incident reports, updates to plumbing codes and drinking water regulations, product performance improvements, and important industry events. We also share practical guidance and resources for establishing and maintaining cross-connection control programs, along with other essential topics focused on protecting the public water supply.
Water drawn from natural sources — rivers, lakes, streams, and wells — often contains microorganisms, dissolved chemicals, and suspended particles. Before it can be used as potable water, process water, or system water for heating, cooling, or irrigation, it must be treated to reduce contaminants to safe and appropriate levels.
This year, August 16, 2026, is the sixth annual National Backflow Prevention Day. It is a day to celebrate everyone who works behind the scenes protecting the water systems we depend on each and every day. These are things most people simply take for granted. On this day, we celebrate the plumbers, pipefitters, and sprinkler fitters who build and maintain the water systems within our facilities.
An exam score is a measuring tool, nothing more and nothing less. It provides insight into how well an individual understands the subject matter at a specific moment in time. In the world of backflow prevention tester certification, that understanding directly affects public health protection.
The term containment protection is foundational in the cross-connection control industry and in 2026 it remains just as important as ever.
Backflow Prevention Installation Mistakes That Still Persist in 2026. After traveling across the United States conducting cross-connection control training, performing surveys, and answering questions about problematic backflow prevention installations, one issue remains surprisingly common: failure to follow the adopted plumbing code.
More than a decade after lead contamination in drinking water became a national headline, one uncomfortable truth remains clear in 2026: Lead in drinking water is still a serious public health problem.
A clear answer every property owner deserves. One of the most common and most important questions asked by business owners and property managers is: “Why do I need to have backflow prevention installed, tested, and maintained in my facility?”
Over the years, the cross-connection control industry has been shaped not just by codes, standards, and test procedures but by people.
Why water, infrastructure, and education are our shared responsibility. There are moments in life that force us to slow down and reconsider what truly matters. In a world that feels faster, louder, and more polarized every year, those moments are often deeply personal.