Fire fighting will never cause low pressure and backsiphonage in the water distribution system.

• A. True
• B. Often True
• C. Sometimes
• D. False

Answer: (D)

Firefighting can create a sudden, large demand for water that pulls down pressures in the distribution system. When hydrants are opened, the flow can drop system pressure enough that a cross-connection without proper protection could experience backsiphonage—water flowing backward into the system from a contaminated source. Utilities prevent this with adequate residual pressures, isolation of zones, and backflow prevention devices on service connections. Because these hydraulic and protection considerations mean firefighting can indeed cause low pressure and backsiphonage under certain conditions, the statement is not true.