WSET.com - ABC13Avoiding Water Contamination Tops Town's Priorities

Reporter: Rachel Schaerr | Videographer: Daniel Heffner

Appomattox, VA - In the next couple of weeks, inspectors will be going to many Appomattox businesses checking for a very important device - it's called a backflow preventer.

Many businesses like car washes, restaurants and hair salons are required to have them. It's basically a check valve that prevents water from flowing backwards and contaminating the water supply.

Appomattox's Interim Town Manager says the inspections are a high priority right now, with the town and county hooking up to Campbell County's water line in the next few weeks.

"I've looked at it for six months, and I always wondered what it was," said the assistant manager of O'Reilly Auto Parts, pointing to the device on the business's back wall.

The backflow device acts as a barrier in case there's a fire or a big demand for water.

"You can actually pull a vacuum, which means you can pull water from out of buildings back into the system, which you don't want to do," explains Bill Gillespie, Appomattox's interim town manager.

In the next few weeks, the town's utility director says about 80 Appomattox businesses will be inspected for the device.

"The ones that do not have inspections, we'll be giving them 30 days and at which time we'll go back and check again," said Jeff Elder.

Gillespie says most businesses have the device installed, and the town is just making sure they're documented for annual testing.

"It's important that we make sure there's nothing coming back into the system that could possibly contaminate it," he said.

Bryan Strickland now says he's glad he doesn't have to wonder what to call that funny looking thing on the wall.

"I looked at that valve every day and I asked someone, 'What's that valve doing there?'" he said after realizing what it was.

The device can range anywhere from $100 up to a few thousand dollars.

To find out if your business is required to have one, you can call the Appomattox utility department at 434-352-8268.