Chandler backflow testing: annual test, notices and water shutoff

Yes. The city's Backflow Testing and Maintenance Process page says: "All backflow prevention devices installed on city potable drinking water service lines and functioning as secondary containment are required to be tested annually." The same page says the city will send email notices before assembly due dates, and that devices on reclaimed water services are exempt from this requirement.

The legal basis is City Code 52-36(G): "It shall be the duty of the customer/user at any premises where backflow prevention devices are installed to have certified inspections and operational tests and repairs made at least once per year." Tests and repairs are at the water user's expense and are done by the device manufacturer's representative or a certified tester the Director of Public Works and Utilities approves. The Director can require tests more often where the hazard is great.

The city's standard operating procedure for annual tester notification lists these steps:

1. 160 days before the due date: first notice letters go out, with a 60-day response period.
2. 230 days after the first notice: if no passing report has come in, a reminder notice is sent.
3. 35 days before the due date: if the passing report is still missing, a final reminder is issued.
4. 4Compliance date: if no passing report has been received, "water service will be shut off on the following working day."
5. 5Restoring service: water stays off until a passing certified backflow test is received, or the test is completed under the supervision of a city Water Quality representative. You must hand over a copy of the passing certification at that time.

City Code 52-36(A) backs this up: the city may discontinue water service if a required device is not installed, tested and maintained, and service is not restored until the defect is corrected.

• Backflow assembly: a valve arrangement that keeps water from flowing backward into the city system.
• Compliance date: the deadline by which the city must have the passing test report.
• Certified tester: a tester the manufacturer or the Director of Public Works and Utilities has approved.

It covers whoever owns a backflow assembly on a Chandler city water service line: businesses, commercial irrigation systems, fire lines and any other connection where a backflow device was installed. The city page puts the duty on the device owner, including keeping the city's contact information current. If you are a tenant, check your lease to see whether the landlord or you receive the notice and pay the tester.

The routine renewal. A dental office gets the 60-day notice, hires a certified tester from the city's list, and the tester submits the passing report. Nothing else happens. This is the goal, and it takes one service call.

The failed test. The tester finds the assembly leaking. Under City Code 52-37(C), the owner picks a certified tester from the city-approved list to repair or replace it, and the tester retests before the assembly goes back in service. If you leave the repair until the last week, you are racing the compliance date.

The edge case: a hazardous-materials facility. Under City Code 52-37(A), when a facility handles, stores or uses hazardous materials that may pose a risk to the water system, the Director requires testing by an independent agent the city selects. The city pays that agent and assesses the water user a surcharge under a fee schedule the Director sets. A facility in that group cannot simply book its favorite tester. Repairs still come from you, at your expense, from the approved tester list.

1. 1Find the notice and note the compliance date. If you are past it, call the Chandler Backflow Reports line at 480-782-3665 today.
2. 2Pick a certified tester from the city's approved list at chandleraz.gov/residents/water/water-quality/backflow-testing-companies.
3. 3Tell the city in advance when the test will happen. City Code 52-37(E) says the customer notifies the Director so the city can witness the test if it wants to.
4. 4Make sure the passing report reaches the city at chandlerbackflowreports@chandleraz.gov, and keep your own copy. Code 52-37(F) says records of tests, repairs and overhauls must be kept and made available to the Director.
5. 5Keep your contact information current. The city page states that notifying Water Quality of changes is the device owner's responsibility.

• "The tester files it, so I'm done." The city page puts the burden on the owner to make sure the passing report is received by the compliance date.
• "I did not get a notice, so I do not owe a test." Notices go by email to the contact on file, and the duty in City Code 52-36(G) exists whether or not a notice arrives.
• "A shutoff can be argued later." The SOP says service stays off until a passing certified test is received or completed under a Water Quality representative's supervision.
• "Any plumber can test it." Testing must be done by the manufacturer's representative or a tester the Director has approved.

This page describes Chandler's published rules. It is not legal advice, and the city can update its procedure at any time.