Backflow questions, answered

A backflow test is a hands-on check of the valves inside your backflow prevention assembly. A certified tester connects a calibrated differential-pressure gauge to the assembly’s test cocks and confirms each check valve holds, each relief valve or air inlet opens when it should, and the shutoff valves seal. It takes 15–30 minutes per assembly, and the results go on an official field test report that is filed with your water utility.

Washington’s cross-connection control rule, WAC 246-290-490, requires water utilities to make sure every backflow assembly they rely on is tested at installation, after any repair, reinstallation or relocation, and at least annually. Assemblies are mechanical — springs weaken, rubber hardens, debris lodges in seats — and a failed assembly can let contaminated water flow back into the public supply. Your utility enforces the rule, so they send the notice.

Only a Backflow Assembly Tester (BAT) certified by the Washington State Department of Health. Certification is administered by Washington Certification Services at Green River College and requires passing a hands-on practical exam and a 100-question written exam. You can verify any tester’s certification on the public BAT lookup.

Book a certified tester before the due date on the letter, then make sure the tester files the report with your utility. That’s it. We handle the filing for you and send you a copy. If you’re not sure what assembly you have or where it is, send us a photo of the letter — we’ll figure it out. Read our full test notice guide.

Utilities escalate. Most send a second notice, then a final notice; many charge non-compliance fees (Tacoma Water, for example, can assess $100 per occurrence), and state rules allow utilities to discontinue water service until the cross-connection is protected. It’s far cheaper to just get the test done.

Our residential test starts at $95 for the first assembly and $60 for each additional assembly on the same visit, with filing to your water utility included. Commercial and fire-line assemblies are priced on our pricing page. No trip charge inside our service area.

Usually not. If the assembly is outside — in a meter box, on an irrigation riser, or against the house — we just need access and the water on. We’ll text when we arrive and when we’re done. For indoor assemblies (fire risers, mechanical rooms, under-sink units) someone needs to let us in.

Briefly. Testing requires closing the assembly’s downstream shutoff for a few minutes per assembly. For irrigation that’s invisible. For a building’s domestic supply or a fire line, we coordinate the timing with you — and for fire lines, with your monitoring company — before we touch a valve.

We tell you exactly which part failed, show you the gauge reading, and quote the repair on the spot. Most failures are a worn check-valve rubber, a fouled seat, or a tired spring — repairable with a manufacturer repair kit. After the repair, the assembly must be retested before it goes back into service, and that passing test is what gets filed. Some utilities set tight deadlines — Kirkland gives five business days.

Often, yes. We carry repair kits for the assemblies we see most around Puget Sound (Watts, Febco, Wilkins/Zurn, Ames, Apollo/Conbraco). If the part isn’t on the truck we order it and come back — and the retest is discounted.

They protect against different levels of hazard. A Reduced Pressure Backflow Assembly (RPBA) has two check valves plus a relief valve and is used for high health hazards. A Double Check Valve Assembly (DCVA) has two check valves and is used for low hazards like most fire sprinkler systems. A Pressure Vacuum Breaker (PVBA) and Spill-Resistant Vacuum Breaker (SVBA) protect against back-siphonage only and are common on lawn irrigation. See our assembly types guide.

A backflow assembly has to be pressurized to test. If your irrigation is shut down for winter, we can schedule the test for your spring start-up — and if your due date lands in the off-season, we’ll help you coordinate with your utility.

Yes. In Washington, a certified BAT may inspect, test and maintain the backflow assembly on a water-based fire protection system without a separate fire sprinkler certificate. We test DCVAs, DCDAs, RPBAs and RPDAs on fire service lines and coordinate with your alarm monitoring company so a test doesn’t become a fire department response.

Yes — it’s a big part of what we do. Send us your portfolio once; we build a schedule around each utility’s due dates, test every assembly, file every report, and give you one consolidated compliance packet. See commercial & property management.

Yes. Every customer gets a free reminder about 30 days before their next test is due. Reply to the text and you’re booked.

Always, and it’s included in the price. We’re registered with the utilities we serve (BAT card and test-kit calibration on file) and use whatever submission system they require — SPU’s SAMS portal, Renton’s iBackflow, Mercer Island’s Tokay portal, or email. You get a copy for your records.