Failure to re-certify by the date shown on the Certification Card will result in your certification number being removed from the OWWA database. PLEASE NOTE: Authorities having jurisdiction may not permit you to test backflow preventers and/or carry our cross connection control surveys until you are re-certified.

For the purposes of installing and repairing backflow preventers a person is required by the Trades Qualification Act of Ontario to be a journeyman plumber or a registered apprentice working under the direction of a journeyman plumber. No other trade or person is permitted to install plumbing (including backflow preventers).

Backflow prevention certification and re-certification courses at some OWWA accredited training facilities are re-opening with health and safety measures in place. Please contact your local Institution or click on the links below to get more information:

Callouts are useful because layout varies between print and digital versions. When a reader needs to locate an exact figure, table, or box in the text, the direction to ‘see figure above/below’ may not be correct, depending on the format and if a hyperlink is used. This is even more important when viewing a publication on a hand-held device and only limited text is visible at any time.

Testing of backflow preventers is not regulated by the province; however, authorities having jurisdiction will generally have bylaw requirements that specify that a tester of backflow preventers must be properly trained. Additionally, authorities usually have an authorized functions list that will identify who can do what as far as testing, installing, repairing, and relocating backflow preventers. Most authorities will use a functions list similar to one found in the CSA B64.10 Standard. Most also have some sort of registration program for testers (but programs can vary). You should check with each municipality or supplier.

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Testers are issued a digital certificate with their name, certificate number, certification date, and expiry date. A secondary sourse of certification status is the OWWA Online Tester List. Municipalities, water purveyors, and the public should ensure that a person that is testing a backflow preventer is in possession of these documents.

Headings offer a clear and specific point to reference or link to that works well in both print and digital formats.  The more specific the cross reference is, the easier it will be for your reader to locate the information that they need. Drill down to the lowest level of heading available and direct your reader to a targeted point.

If page numbers are important for your print edition, a good option is to cross-reference by both heading and page number. The headings enable cross-referencing in the digital edition. If you are using numbered headings, adding page numbers to cross references is unnecessary. The numbered heading is sufficient to provide a specific target that is easy to locate.

All figures, tables, and boxes must have a specific call-out from the main body of the text (e.g. ‘see Figure 1.1’). There are some exceptions to this rule, in some reference and in trade titles. If you are unsure whether to include figure callouts, please discuss this with your OUP editorial contact.

Cross-referencing is a powerful tool that can greatly enhance your work. Good cross-referencing allows readers to link quickly to related material elsewhere in your work, adding significant functionality and value.

After successful course completion through an OWWA-accredited educational institution, a person’s qualification as an OWWA Certified Cross Connection Control Specialist is valid for a period not exceeding 5 years at which time they must re-certify. Re-certification courses are offered through the same educational institutions that offer the full course.

All work performed on a drinking water system as defined in the Safe Drinking Water Act, 2002, must be performed by a person who meets the requirements specified in the relevant regulations under the Safe Drinking Water Act, 2002.

The OWWA Cross Connection Control Committee has established and maintains a program for training of testers. Training is based on requirements found in the AWWA Canadian Cross Connection Control Manual and is offered through educational institutions that have been accredited by the committee. The Canadian Sections of AWWA have established a standard tester’s course that specifies the minimum requirement for course duration, course content, lab facilities, examination content, and minimum achievement mark to pass.

Heading numbers can be used to point to cross-referencing targets (e.g. ‘see 4.3.2’). They make short, unobtrusive, and specific targets that are not tied to pagination.  This method is especially useful in textbooks and reference works with a lot of cross-referencing, as well as in digital publications. Completing cross-referencing before submission cuts down on queries during the production process.

Cross-referencing via headings doesn’t work with long streams of unbroken text.  Break it up by placing main headings and sub-headings at regular and appropriate intervals. In addition to facilitating cross-referencing, this practice allows your reader to easily read and navigate your work.

We would like to acknowledge that the work of the OWWA Community takes place within the ancestral and traditional territories of the Anishinabek, Haudenosaunee, Algonquin, Mississauga, Delaware and Cree.