The following comments have been endorsed by the Hampton Roads Planning District Commission (HRPDC) Directors of Utilities Committee. The Committee includes the Directors of Water Utilities serving the following localities:  Cities of Chesapeake, Franklin, Hampton, Newport News, Norfolk, Poquoson, Portsmouth, Suffolk, Virginia Beach, and Williamsburg, Gloucester County, Isle of Wight County, James City County, Southampton County, York County and the Towns of Smithfield and Windsor.

We strongly support the continued certification program for Backflow Prevention Device Workers. Backflow prevention devices protect public health by preventing contamination of drinking water. Virginia should continue the existing program to support the proper installation and maintenance of these devices. They provide protection from accidental injection of toxic chemicals into drinking water systems in situations where there is no active monitoring to quickly detect problems. The reliable function of backflow prevention devices is essential to maintaining the safe drinking water that Virginians rely on every day.

The HRPDC Directors of Utilities requests that DPOR not eliminate the certification program for Backflow Prevention Device Workers, and further request that DPOR continue the certification program for Backflow Prevention Device Workers exactly in its current form.