held an emergency meeting Wednesday to try to figure out a solution that some in the industry say could lead to water shutoffs and pricey bills for a standard procedure.
The change caught many in the backflow prevention industry off guard. Colleen Morrison with Morrison Backflow Testing said she learned about the new law, which went into effect on July 1, on June 14. She said she called her contacts at Denver Water who said they had not heard about the change either.She said the change in the law eliminates 44% of her business, puts her employees at risk and puts the public at risk if bad water enters the water supply.
“Unfortunately, during the legislation's five public hearings held last March and floor debates, none of these concerns were brought forward, making it difficult to incorporate feedback until the next legislative session,” Lieder said in a statement to 9NEWS Consumer Investigator Steve Staeger. In a joint statement Wednesday, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, the agency that regulates water quality, and the Department of Regulatory Agencies, which licenses plumbers across the state, said the change is “not in the best interest of public health and water utility compliance.”