Does El Mirage require a permit to install a backflow assembly?

The section opens with the permit duty: "Installation permits for the installation of all backflow prevention assemblies required by the Department shall be obtained from the Department prior to installation." It then adds that "A separate permit shall be obtained for each required backflow prevention assembly to be installed, including any replacement." The pieces that follow, labeled (A) through (D):

• (A), inspection call: the person doing the work notifies the Department, orally or in writing, that the system is ready for inspection. The notice goes in at least 24 hours before the inspection, and only if there is reason to believe the work meets the Uniform Plumbing Code (UPC) and the current USCS standards.
• (B), stop orders: work done contrary to the UPC or the code can be ordered stopped by written notice, and the person must stop until the Department authorizes the work to proceed.
• (C), suspension or revocation: the Department may suspend or revoke a permit issued in error, on incorrect information, or in violation of the code.
• (D), fee: "A fee will be required on all backflow preventions. The fee for the permit is $39."

The installation section just before it requires the customer to install assemblies at the customer's expense, as close to the service connection as possible, on private property unless authorized, in an accessible location the Department approves. Reduced pressure, pressure vacuum breaker and double check assemblies go above ground, and no one may "alter, modify, bypass, or remove" an assembly without the Department's approval.

• The Department: the code's own term for the city office running the program. The permit section does not name the office; the city's Permit Center page lists Development Services at 623-876-2977.
• Required assembly: one called for by the installation list in Section 50.125, which marks most commercial activities (commercial dishwashers, food preparation and carbonation equipment, ice makers, cooling systems) with an RPA, a reduced pressure principle assembly.
• Replacement: counted as an installation, so it gets its own permit.
• USCS: the code uses the abbreviation without defining it in this section.

Any customer on the El Mirage water system whose premises need an assembly. A new tenant with a new ice maker, a restaurant replacing a failed RPA and a property owner adding irrigation backflow all need a permit before the work, because the duty attaches to installing the assembly, not to the kind of business.

The code text says $39, but two other sections complicate it.

Section 50.135 says "The fee for any permit required pursuant to the terms of this subchapter shall be established and modified by Council resolution from time to time." Section 50.134(C) adds that the initial installation permit fee "shall be waived by the Department for retrofit premises only."

Then check the posted schedule. The Adopted Fee Schedule FY26-27, linked from the city's Permit Center page, has no line naming backflow. So $39 is the figure printed in the code, and the schedule is silent on it.

A restaurant replaces a failed RPA on its service line. The permit section says a replacement counts. The plumber pulls a permit before swapping the unit, calls for inspection with at least 24 hours notice, and the certified tester reports the results to the Department.

A new tenant adds a commercial ice maker. The ice maker row in Section 50.125 marks an RPA, so the tenant needs an assembly and a permit for it.

The edge case: a repair that stops short of replacement. Rebuilding the internals is not named in 50.128, which covers installation and replacement. The code gives the Department the call on what it requires.

1. 1Check Section 50.125 for your equipment and note the assembly the Department will expect.
2. 2Call Development Services at 623-876-2977 and ask for the permit, the current backflow permit fee and the inspection process.
3. 3Have the assembly installed above ground, accessible and close to the service connection, with the Department's approval of the location.
4. 4Give the Department at least 24 hours notice for the inspection.
5. 5Book a certified tester. The annual testing section requires an individual certified through the American Water Works Association who is approved by the Department, and the tester sends the results to the Department.
6. 6Keep the permit, the test report and the inspection record with the lease or property file.

• Assuming a replacement is just maintenance. The code says each permit covers an assembly, "including any replacement."
• Treating $39 as a settled number. Section 50.135 says fees are set by Council resolution, and the posted FY26-27 schedule has no backflow line.
• Calling for inspection too early. The inspection notice is only supposed to go in when there is reason to believe the work will meet UPC standards.
• Leaving the assembly bypassed during a repair. The installation section bars bypassing or removing one without the Department's approval, and the city may disconnect service for a bypassed assembly under Section 50.131.

The code lists a penalty cross-reference in Section 50.999 for the permit section. Beyond that, the Department may issue a written stop order, suspend or revoke a permit, and, for an assembly that was never installed, improperly tested, bypassed or removed, disconnect water service to the connection if the problem is not fixed within the time in its notice. Section 50.131(C) requires a notice first, describing the condition and giving 45 days from the initial inspection date to fix it.

The rule is El Mirage City Code 50.128 on American Legal, with Sections 50.125, 50.131, 50.134 and 50.135 beside it. HQ tests, repairs and replaces domestic backflow assemblies. This page is an explanation, and the code text governs.