Many residents in Alpena have received, or will be receiving, letters from the National Water Specialties Company (NAWSC) acting on the City’s behalf to help bring the City of Alpena into compliance with Michigan’s mandatory back-flow prevention requirements monitoring program required by EGLE.

These letters have the City logo and display “City of Alpena, CCC Department” on them. (CCC is Cross Connection Control). Please understand that these letters are not fake or a scam.

Because back-flow protection requires a case-by case determination for each individual property, not every location is necessarily required to have a back flow prevention device.

The wording of the letter takes a more direct tone because of the seriousness of protecting the water supply from contamination. It’s important to call the toll-free number listed on the letter and answer the questions they ask or fill out the on-line survey at www.nawsc.net.

These simple questions will determine if you are required to have a device installed and/or inspected, as well as what the appropriate device is for your location. Although these State of Michigan requirements are not limited to just a boiler or an irrigation system, they are typically factors that would require an inspection and determination if a backflow prevention device is required.

In the short time the program has been running, many residents have already contacted NAWSC and based on the answers they have given, have been placed into reserve status which indicates that no device is required for their residence at this time, and they will receive no further letters unless the State requires additional residential protections.

CONTACT: City Engineer Steve Shultz, 989-354-1730 or steves@alpena.mi.us or Engineering Technician, Shane Adamski, 989-354-1733 or shanea@alpena.mi.us