Water Quality

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Water is the most common substance on Earth, collecting in lakes and flowing across the land as streams and rivers. Water is plentiful and yet, only 1% of the water on Earth is available as a drinking water source.

Fifty percent of the U.S. population, including all of us here in Payson, depend on water stored in the ground for our source of drinking water. Our drinking water comes from rainfall that soaks into the ground and is stored within random cracks and fractures in granite rock. These underground networks of water-filled cracks are known as aquifers.

In order to ensure that we have water of sufficient quantity, but also of sufficient quality, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) require all public water systems to test the water they deliver on a frequent basis. Currently, the Payson Water Department staff samples all of the town’s groundwater wells for over 100 different contaminants, as required by the Safe Drinking Water Act.

Please see Annual Reports page for the most recent Water Quality Report.

For questions or additional information, please contact Gordon Dimbat at gdimbat@paysonaz.gov or (928) 472-5109.

Cross Connection Control - Protecting Our Water Supply

Backflow Preventer In addition to routine testing, the Water Department prevents contamination of the public water supply by requiring the installation of backflow assemblies as needed throughout the water distribution system. The Town also has a wellhead protection program to prevent contamination of the groundwater which is the sole supply of drinking water for our community.

Backflow into a public water system can pollute or contaminate the water in that system, and each water supplier has a responsibility to provide water that is usable and safe to drink under all foreseeable circumstances. Furthermore, consumers generally have absolute faith that water delivered to them through a public water system is always safe to drink. For these reasons, each water supplier must take reasonable precautions to protect its public water system against backflow.

The Town of Payson’s Cross Connection Control program is designed to maintain the safety and potability of the water in the distribution system by preventing the backflow of any foreign liquids, gases or other substances into the water distribution system.

A backflow preventer, or cross connection control device, is required under any circumstance where contamination may occur and all new building plans or facility use changes are reviewed to determine whether a backflow device is needed. The standard device required by the Town of Payson is a Reduced Pressure Principle assembly.

In accordance with federal and state guidelines, these assemblies must be tested upon installation, any time maintenance is conducted and at least once a year thereafter by a certified tester. A certified tester has completed a course of study and passed both a written and practical exam to be able to inspect backflow assemblies.

For questions or additional information, please contact Brenda Huff at bhuff@paysonaz.gov or (928) 472-5103.