Backflow testing in Tampa Bay
Tampa tests residential backflow assemblies every two years and commercial ones every year, by a certified tester who files in SwiftComply. Get connected with a plumbing contractor who does the test.
A backflow prevention assembly keeps water on your property from flowing back into the public main if the pressure in the street drops: irrigation water with fertilizer in it, pool water, well water, reclaimed water. Where one of those is connected, the utility requires the assembly and requires it to be tested on a schedule by a certified tester, because a check valve that has failed looks exactly like one that works.
Call and get connected with an independent local plumbing contractor who serves your part of Hillsborough or Pinellas and does backflow testing. Say which utility the water bill comes from, what the assembly serves (irrigation, pool, fire sprinklers, reclaimed water, a well), and whether you have received a test notice. A call connects you to the contractor directly; the form gets you a call back.
The City of Tampa rule
Tampa Water Department, under City Code section 26-85 and Florida Administrative Code 62-555.360.
- Properties with a fire sprinkler system, a swimming pool, in-ground irrigation, a reclaimed water connection, a secondary water supply such as a well, or an identified cross-connection risk must have a backflow prevention assembly.
- Residential assemblies are tested every two years; commercial assemblies every year.
- The test is done by a certified backflow prevention device technician registered in the city's SwiftComply database, and the results are submitted there within seven calendar days.
- An assembly that fails is serviced or replaced without delay, within 15 days, and then tested again.
- Questions go to Tampa Water Department Field Quality, (813) 231-5266.
Pinellas and the other cities
Every utility around the bay runs a cross-connection control program under the same state rule, with its own testing interval and its own way of receiving results: Pinellas County Utilities, the City of St. Petersburg, Clearwater, Largo, Pinellas Park, and Hillsborough County Water Resources for the unincorporated county. The notice you receive names the utility and the deadline; the tester files where that utility requires. If you have not received a notice but you have irrigation on city water, ask the utility whether an assembly is on record for your address.
What the test involves
The tester shuts the water briefly, connects a test kit to the assembly's test cocks, and measures whether each check valve and the relief valve hold. It takes under an hour. A failed assembly is usually repaired with a rebuild kit on the spot or replaced if the body is corroded; a new assembly is a permitted installation.
Ask whether the contractor holds the tester certification the utility requires and is registered with that utility, whether the fee includes filing the report, and whether they will send you a copy of the test report. Ask for the plumbing license number (CFC or RF) as well and check it on DBPR.