Do you need a permit to install or replace a backflow preventer in Glendale?

The Backflow Tester Policy from Glendale Water Services, in the section titled "Permits Required on all Backflow installations," says "The City of Glendale requires backflow installation permits for all new installations, including retrofits and replacement of existing backflow assemblies." That covers three things: a first-time installation, a retrofit on an existing service, and a replacement of an assembly already in place. Like-for-like is not carved out.

The same Tester Policy section says what happens without one: the Cross Connection Department "will no longer be accepting backflow reports on new or replaced backflow assemblies without a backflow permit, and inspection of the backflow and underground piping."

The process the policy gives:

• Where to apply. Development Services Center, 2nd Floor, 5850 W Glendale Avenue, Glendale, AZ 85301.
• When to call for inspection. After installation and certification of the assembly, call the permit line at 623-915-3263.
• Which code to give. Code 237 is for a backflow domestic water line, 238 for a backflow fire line, 245 for a backflow fire hydrant meter and 246 for a backflow irrigation line.
• Where the test report goes. The tester submits it online through the city's cross-connection portal. The policy says reports "lacking information or with inaccurate information will be sent back to the tester for correction."

Fire line work and hydrant meters use the same permit line with their own codes. This page is about the domestic and irrigation side.

Glendale's Community Development Fee Schedule (effective May 10, 2019, the version on the city's site as of the date above) has a "Backflow Prevention" block with "Permit Fee $82.37 per device," "Annual Processing Fee $82.37 per site" and "Hydrant Backflow Permit $72.42 per hydrant." The fee schedule's plumbing permit table has separate lines too: "Lawn Sprinkler System - (includes backflow device) $18.76 EA," "Atmospheric Type Vacuum Breaker $15.58" and "Backflow Devices not Atmospheric: $82.37 per device." The schedule does not say how the backflow block and the plumbing table combine for one job, so ask the Development Services Center which lines apply to yours. A newer schedule may exist.

Glendale City Code 33-91 sets the installation rules:

• The customer installs the device at the customer's expense, at the service connection, with a diameter at least equal to the service connection.
• The location must be accessible and approved by the city.
• A reduced pressure principle device and a pressure vacuum breaker "shall be installed above ground." A double check valve may be installed, at the customer's option, below ground in a vault that meets the city's specifications.
• Where a customer wants continuous water during testing, two or more devices go in parallel.
• Bypassing or removing a device without city approval is unlawful and punishable as a misdemeanor.

• New installation, retrofit, replacement. The policy does not define these three. The ordinary readings: new is a first assembly on a service, retrofit adds one to an existing service, and replacement swaps out an assembly already there.
• Certification of the assembly. The Tester Policy says to call for inspection "after installation and certification." The Tester Policy does not define the word. The usual reading is the passing test by a city-recognized tester, and that is a reading.
• Recognized tester. A tester on the city's list. The policy says each tester completes the required course and retests every three years, and that testers must calibrate test equipment annually.

Anyone putting a backflow assembly on a Glendale water service: owners, tenants who run the project, contractors and the tester who certifies it. The inspection codes distinguish domestic, fire line, hydrant meter and irrigation lines.

The Tester Policy does not mention a repair that leaves the assembly in place, so reading it as outside the permit rule is a reading, not a stated exemption. The Tester Policy permit language is about "new installations, including retrofits and replacement of existing backflow assemblies." Whether internal parts rebuilt during an annual test count as a repair or a replacement is a question for the Development Services Center before you start.

A failed RP at a car wash. The annual test fails and the owner decides to replace the assembly. The replacement needs a backflow permit from the Development Services Center, then an inspection by phone with code 237, then the tester's report.

A tester who skips the permit check. A tester certifies a replacement the owner installed without a permit. The Tester Policy lists "Backflow assemblies installed without a permit" among the occurrences that may result in a penalty to the tester, with a written warning first, then a three-month suspension, then a six-month suspension.

The edge case, where the answer flips. Take one RP assembly on a landscape line at a Glendale business. At the annual test it passes. The assembly stays in place, the policy's permit language (new installations, retrofits and replacements) does not name that, and the tester files the report online. Now change one fact: it fails and the owner replaces it. The same policy now says the city "will no longer be accepting backflow reports on new or replaced backflow assemblies without a backflow permit, and inspection of the backflow and underground piping." The replacement needs the permit, the irrigation code 246 inspection call, and then the report.

1. 1Get the permit at the Development Services Center, 2nd Floor, 5850 W Glendale Avenue, before the new assembly goes in.
2. 2Show the assembly on any plans you submit. City Code 33-99 requires every device to be shown and specified on the required building and engineering plans.
3. 3Install it at the service connection, sized at least to the service, above ground if it is an RP or pressure vacuum breaker.
4. 4Have a recognized tester certify it, then call 623-915-3263 with the right code for the inspection.
5. 5Make sure the tester's report goes online. Questions go to Cross Connection Control at 623-930-4138 or backflow@glendaleaz.com.

• Myth: a replacement is just maintenance. The policy names replacement of existing assemblies in the same sentence as new installations.
• Myth: the tester's report is the permit. The city says it will not accept reports on new or replaced assemblies without a permit and inspection.
• Myth: one phone code covers every line. There are four codes: 237, 238, 245 and 246.
• Myth: the fee in the fee schedule is the total bill. The schedule lists several backflow-related lines and does not say how they combine for one job.

The policy and the fee schedule are linked above, and Glendale City Code Chapter 33 is on Municode. This page explains them and the official text governs.