What a backflow test is, and who has to have one
A backflow preventer is a testable valve assembly on a building's water supply that stops water from the building's own plumbing — irrigation, boilers, fire lines, process equipment — flowing back into the public system. Because it can fail without anyone noticing, BC water authorities require it to be tested by a certified tester, usually on installation and then every year, and the result reported to them.
Who has to arrange it
The bylaws put the duty on the owner or customer, not on the tester. The Capital Regional District's Bylaw 3516 is typical: the customer must have every approved testable backflow preventer tested on installation and annually (s.7.1), make sure the report is “submitted and received” inside the window (s.7.2), keep a tag at the device (s.7.5) and keep a file of results (s.7.6). Hazard classification is the authority's call, after inspection (s.3.2).
When the report is due
It depends on the authority, and they do not count from the same day: the CRD gives 35 days from the notice to test; most others run from the day of the test. 33 BC authorities publish a deadline we have verified in their own words — the list is here.
Source: CRD Cross Connection Control Bylaw No. 3516, s.3.2, s.7.1–7.6.
Every city's deadline
Quoted from each authority's own bylaw or form:
Abbotsford · Burnaby · Capital Regional District · Castlegar · Chilliwack · Clearbrook Waterworks District · Coquitlam · Duncan · Enderby · Fort St. John · Kamloops · Kelowna · Mission · New Westminster · Parksville · Penticton · Pitt Meadows · Port Moody · Prince George · Regional District of Nanaimo · Regional District of North Okanagan · Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen · Salmon Arm · Sunshine Coast Regional District · Terrace · Township of Langley · UBC · University Endowment Lands · Vancouver · West Kelowna · Whistler · White Rock · Williams Lake
More guides
- What a backflow test is, and who has to have one
- What a backflow test costs in BC
- Backflow fines and penalties in BC
- Choosing a backflow tester in BC
- Backflow duties for strata councils and property managers
- My backflow test failed — what happens now
- Backflow reports: portal or email, authority by authority
- Backflow records to keep, and for how long