The Town of Nashville council voted to approve text amendments to the town’s Chapter 38 backflow and cross‑connection control ordinance at its May 20 meeting, moving to clarify certification schedules, residential irrigation requirements and how existing devices are handled.

The changes were explained by Walter Manning, a town employee who oversees backflow enforcement. Manning said the amendment aligns the ordinance with actual tester training requirements: “After the initial certification, the tester must take recertification classes before 2 years of receiving initial certification, and after the first recertification class, the tester must take every certification class every 3 years,” language Manning said the draft will now mirror.

The amendment package also clarifies that in‑ground residential irrigation systems connected to the town water must have an approved cross‑connection device; that devices installed before the original ordinance may remain in service until repair or replacement is required; and that reduced pressure (RP) backflow devices—not pressure vacuum breakers (PVB/PVBs)—are the required protection for the town’s system in the enumerated circumstances. Manning told the council the statute does not permit age‑based exemptions for public water safety.

Councilmembers asked about compliance timelines; Manning said required replacement or installation timing depends on the degree of hazard, with high‑hazard installations subject to a 60‑day compliance window and lower‑hazard installations allowed 90 days to comply.

Mayor and council members then called for a motion to adopt the recommended changes (listed in the packet as ordinance amendment 2025‑19, Chapter 38). A motion and second were made and the council voiced its approval. The meeting record shows the motion passed by voice vote; individual roll‑call tallies were not recorded in the transcript.

The ordinance amendment also fixes several numbering and cross‑reference errors in the existing Chapter 38 text and documents the third‑party role of Backflow Solution Inc. (BSI) as the town’s vendor for testing notifications and reporting.

The council did not identify a specific statutory citation during discussion; members and staff referred generically to “the statute” when noting that public water safety obligations cannot be waived by facility age.

Council direction: staff will proceed with adopting the ordinance text as amended and begin the normal implementation and notification steps for affected customers.

The council moved on after the vote to other agenda items, including a park construction contract and the FY‑26 budget review.