Bloomington to outsource cross‑connection/backflow program to Backflow Solutions; council approves three‑year contract

The Bloomington City Council voted to waive formal bidding requirements and enter a three-year agreement with Backflow Solutions Inc. (BSI) to bring the city’s cross-connection/backflow compliance program into alignment with EPA and state requirements.

Staff presentation: Director Kelly Pfeiffer said the city currently manages about 3,300 commercial accounts but is not collecting residential device surveys or tests; staff estimated roughly 1,000 residential customers may have backflow devices and described software and staffing shortcomings that make internal compliance difficult. The BSI proposal included a one-time survey cost of $148,545 (roughly $5 per address) and ongoing per-device fees; staff proposed the city cover residential upload fees while charging commercial device owners an annual $65 fee, projecting about $120,000 in revenue per year to offset program costs.

Council questions and response: Council asked whether noncompliant accounts would receive assistance or face penalties; staff said BSI would flag accounts and notify owners and the city would follow up for a small percentage requiring manual outreach. Staff said the third-party approach improved transparency for staff and partners and noted other Illinois systems use similar vendors.

Next steps: Staff will execute the contract, onboard commercial customers and then transition residential outreach and compliance. The program is intended to reduce public‑water vulnerability from backflow events and create a transparent compliance tracking system.