FAQs

Irrigation lines sit in soil, fertilizer, and animal waste, so almost every water purveyor requires protection on them. A double check valve assembly covers potable irrigation, while a system carrying chemical injection needs the stronger reduced pressure assembly.

Three assemblies carry test cocks and get tested annually: the pressure vacuum breaker, the double check valve assembly, and the reduced pressure principle assembly. Each protects against a different hazard level, and the water purveyor decides which one applies.

The reduced pressure principle assembly offers the strongest protection and is required wherever a real or potential health hazard exists. It vents contaminated water to atmosphere rather than allowing it toward the main, which is why it is most common.

Every assembly costs some pressure. A pressure vacuum breaker averages under 5 pounds per square inch, a double check valve assembly runs roughly 5 to 10, and a reduced pressure assembly takes 10 to 15 pounds out of the line.

Due dates are anchored to the day the assembly was originally installed, and they stay fixed for the life of that device. Testing runs on that same anniversary every year, no matter when the previous year's test actually happened.

Notices escalate. A first reminder typically arrives well ahead of the deadline, a second allows extra time, and a final certified notice precedes shut-off procedures. Some purveyors will send their own tester, complete the test, and bill the property owner directly.

Protection at your meter shields the public system from whatever happens on your property, an approach the industry calls containment. Individual fixtures and equipment inside the building are handled separately, through plumbing code and separate internal isolation devices.

Certainly. A pool holds an auxiliary water source, and a fill line hanging below the water surface creates a direct path for treated pool water to travel backward toward the meter during any sudden loss of supply pressure.

Fire suppression piping holds stagnant water for long stretches, sometimes with antifreeze or corrosion inhibitors added. That standing water must never reach the drinking supply, so commercial fire lines almost always require a dedicated testable assembly of their own.

Multi-dwelling properties served by a single master meter usually require protection right at that meter. Where one master reduced pressure assembly covers an entire development, purveyors will often test only that assembly rather than every internal device behind it.

Assemblies belong immediately downstream of the meter, above ground, level, and with enough clearance on all sides that a tester can reach every test cock comfortably. Reduced pressure units also need adequate drainage directly below the relief port.

Yes. New installations are inspected and approved by the water department before the connection is considered compliant. Backflow Testing Hawaii LLC confirms that clearance, orientation, and drainage all meet the published standards on new assemblies throughout Kailua-Kona, HI.

No. Testing requires a certified tester holding a current certificate of competence, along with a set of properly calibrated differential gauges. Repairs go further still, since state licensing rules limit that work to licensed plumbing contractors, journeymen, and master plumbers.

Agricultural connections carry fertilizer, herbicide, and livestock exposure, which puts them squarely in the high-hazard category. Farms and orchards that draw on county water alongside a stream, well, or reservoir source need protection and annual verification on those lines.

Fertilizer and pesticide from irrigation, chlorinated pool water, boiler treatment chemicals, fire-line antifreeze, soap from wash bays, and bacteria from standing tanks all travel easily once flow reverses. Contamination ranges from unpleasant taste and color to serious illness.