TL;DR
An irrigation backflow preventer is the protective assembly between the potable supply and a sprinkler system that stops yard water, with its fertilizer, pesticides, and soil bacteria, from siphoning back into drinking lines when pressure drops. Codes assign the device to the hazard: pressure vacuum breakers and double checks serve typical systems, while reduced pressure zone assemblies guard against chemical injection.
What it means
An irrigation backflow preventer is the protective assembly between the potable supply and a sprinkler system that stops yard water, with its fertilizer, pesticides, and soil bacteria, from siphoning back into drinking lines when pressure drops. Codes assign the device to the hazard: pressure vacuum breakers and double checks serve typical systems, while reduced pressure zone assemblies guard against chemical injection. Many water utilities require installation by certified testers and annual test reports, and winterization matters because trapped water cracks the brass body.
Where it sits in the glossary
Irrigation backflow preventer is part of the Trade jargon group inside the ProFix Directory glossary. Browse every term in this category from the glossary index.
Why Ohio homeowners should know it
This is a term Ohio homeowners encounter when reading contractor quotes, hiring paperwork, or inspection reports. Understanding it well enough to ask one good follow-up question is usually all the protection a homeowner needs.
ProFix Directory keeps definitions short on the index page and saves the longer context — Ohio-specific rules, where the term comes from, and which ProFix tools touch it — for these per-term pages so the term is easy to cite and easy to share.
ProFix tools that touch this term
See also
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