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FOREWORD

Cross-Connection Control Professional Qualifications Standard

This foreword shall not be considered a part of the standard. However, it is offered to provide background information.

ASSE International professional qualifications standards are developed in the interest of consumer safety.

In 1987, ASSE's Board of Directors recognized the need to develop a professional qualifications standard for individuals involved with backflow prevention. The resulting qualifications standard, the ASSE Series 5000, established minimum industry requirements for the backflow prevention assembly tester, backflow prevention assembly repairer and crossconnection control surveyor. This voluntary consensus standard was the first in the plumbing and water supply fields to set minimum requirements for qualified professional. The Series 5000 was first issued by the ASSE Board of Directors in 1990 and was designated as an American National Standard by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) on November 14, 1991. The standard series has been updated and revised in 1998, 2000, 2004 and 2009, with the current revision released in 2015.

Backflow prevention methods, devices and assemblies, along with their selection, installation, testing and repair, have been an important part of protecting the public health and the water supply for many years. With the growing use of recycled or gray water systems, and the chronic shortage of water in some areas of the country and world, it is vital that this important resource be protected. There is no understating the importance of requiring trained personnel to specify, install, test and repair this critical protection - the ASSE/IAPMO/ANSI Series 5000 standards mandate the proper level of training, testing and experience needed. To prepare, update and revise this standard, representatives from different regions and industry segments dedicated themselves to achieving true consensus, thereby advancing the backflow prevention community.

In order to better meet the needs of the industry, this revised standard defines the minimum requirements for testing backflow prevention assemblies meeting the performance requirements of ASSE Standards 1013, 1015, 1020, 1047, 1048 and 1056, and the minimum qualifications requirements for becoming an ASSE Certified Backflow Prevention Assembly Tester, Fire Protection System Cross-Connection Control Tester, Backflow Prevention Assembly Repairer, Cross- Connection Control Surveyor, and Backflow Prevention Program Administrator. This 2015 revision has added Standard #5063, Minimum Performance Requirements for Testing Air Valve and Vent Inflow Preventers.

Recognition is made of the time volunteered by members of the working group, the original qualifications standards committee members, and of the industry members who participated in the previous revisions of this standard.

Compliance with this standard does not imply acceptance by any code body. It is recommended that all crossconnection control professionals be in compliance with federal, state and local codes.

This voluntary, consensus standard was promulgated in accordance with procedures developed by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI).