A backwater valve is a backflow prevention device used to prevent outbound water through a dwelling's drain pipes from re-entering -- "back flowing"—into a home.
The valve contains a flap that allows water to exit the home, but closes to prevent the back flow into the home.
[1] Backwater valves commonly activate when a city's sewer lines are unable to handle a large amount of falling precipitation; this puts homes that are tied into the storm lines at risk of having water back flow into them.
[citation needed] There is a big difference between backwater valves and backflow preventers:[citation needed]