Every year people either knowingly or unknowingly cross-connect their culinary (drinking) water system to the secondary (irrigation) water system:

• If you use a weed sprayer attached to a hose, you could back-siphon the chemical from the sprayer to your house taps.
• If you place the end of a hose in a play pool, hot tub, or bucket of soapy water, you could back-siphon dangerous chemicals into your house taps.
• If you use culinary (drinking) water to irrigate your yard, fertilizer or other contamination could back-siphon into your house taps.

This is not only an illegal cross-connection, but it is also very dangerous.  Because the pressure in the secondary water system is higher than the pressure in the culinary water system, the secondary water will be forced into the culinary water line.  If you drink this water, you could become ill or even die.

It is a good habit to NEVER drink from a hose because you don't know if there is any bacteria in the hose.  Bacteria and other chemicals known to be found in garden hoses are hazardous to your health.

There are some simple things you can do to protect yourself from back-flow and back-siphonage:

1.  Install & maintain a back-flow assembly on sprinkling systems using culinary (drinking) water.

2.  If your home doesn't have anti-siphon hose vacuum breakers on the outside culinary taps, install one on each tap.

*A cross connection is a Class C misdemeanor*

If you notice someone who has cross-connected, or you question whether or not your culinary system has been cross-connected with secondary water, please contact the Roy City Water Department (801-774-1090) or the Roy Water Conservancy Subdistrict (801-825-9744) immediately.