When you drink a cold glass of water, you probably don’t think much about where it came from. Your mind probably doesn’t fill with thoughts of what it took to ensure that the water you’re drinking is potable and sanitary. But believe it or not, various factors go into keeping water supplies clean.

One aspect—the backflow prevention system—is integral to ensuring that the water you drink is not only contaminant-free but also flavorful. Learn more about backflow preventers and why they matter in this brief guide.

What Is a Backflow Preventer?

There’s a severe lack of knowledge about what backflow preventers are. It makes sense, considering that we rarely ever hear about them. But in essence, backflow preventers are devices that ensure water never flows backward through pipes and plumbing systems. There are all kinds of backflow prevention systems.

There are even custom-made backflow preventers you can have built to meet your system’s unique needs. But they all share the same function: protecting our water supplies. When water is able to flow backward through pipes, it causes harmful contaminants to enter the water supply that travels through that piping system.

Backflow preventers keep this from happening. Let’s explore that further.

Why Does It Matter?

As previously stated, backflow prevention systems ensure that our drinking water and other water supplies remain sanitary and potable. This is what makes them so important. If we didn’t have them, everything from our drinking water to our fire sprinklers, irrigation systems, and shower water would become contaminated.

We don’t have to tell you that this would lead to many people getting sick. Moreover, it would mean that everything that requires water to function would become compromised. But with backflow preventers, we don’t have to worry about that stuff. This is why backflow prevention systems matter.

Final Thoughts

In short, backflow preventers are essential pieces of equipment that matter because of the way they protect our water supplies. Hopefully, this brief guide has provided more insight into these integral systems.