Who can test backflow assemblies in Mesa? City Code 8-1-12 recognized testers

Subsection (A) says that any person performing backflow maintenance and testing within the city must be a recognized backflow prevention assembly tester and meet all requirements of the section. The Department approves an applicant on receipt of four things:

1. 1A completed tester application on the Department's form.
2. 2A signed City of Mesa Backflow Assembly Tester Agreement, in which the applicant agrees to follow all city codes and Department procedures.
3. 3Proof of certification as a tester, which may be a backflow prevention assembly tester certificate.
4. 4A current gauge accuracy or calibration report for any test equipment the applicant may use.

Once those are in, the city deems the applicant a recognized tester. Staying on the list takes work:

• Certification (C). A tester must keep current certification. Failing to do so means removal from the list.
• Calibration (D). Test equipment must be calibrated every year through an agency the Department accepts, and an accuracy report must be submitted each year. A report dated more than one year old is expired, and a tester without a current report on file is removed from the list.
• Discipline (E), (F). The Department may discipline testers for breaking the tester agreement, the chapter or Department procedures. The code names improper test protocol, a late testing record (more than seven calendar days after the test), fraudulent reporting and other improper practices. Discipline runs from a warning to permanent suspension from testing in the city.
• Appeal (G). A suspended or removed tester can request a hearing in writing with the Water Resources Director within 15 days of the notice. The hearing is held within 15 days of the request, and the director's decision is final and binding.

• Recognized tester. A certified tester the city has approved after the application, agreement, certificate and gauge report.
• Gauge accuracy report. Proof from an accepted agency that the test gauge works as the manufacturer designed it.
• Testing record. The report of a test, which the city treats as late if submitted more than seven calendar days after the test.
• Department. Mesa Water Resources, which runs the backflow program.

Owners of buildings with backflow assemblies get the practical benefit, because their annual test under 8-1-11 has to come from a recognized tester. Testers are the ones bound by the calibration, records and discipline rules. Fire sprinkler assemblies follow their own rules on the 8-1-10 page.

A property manager hiring a tester. The manager asks for proof the tester is recognized by Mesa, not just certified. The test result and the repair deadline both run from a report the city accepts.

A tester whose gauge lapses. The annual accuracy report is dated 13 months ago. Under (D) it is expired, and the tester is removed from the list until a current report is on file.

The edge case. A tester runs a good test but files the report on the tenth day. Under (E) that is a late record, and the Department may discipline the tester even though the assembly passed.

1. 1Ask any tester you hire for confirmation that Mesa currently recognizes them.
2. 2Confirm the calibration report on file is less than a year old.
3. 3Ask when the test record will be filed, and expect it within seven calendar days.
4. 4Keep the assembly's annual test schedule and repair deadlines on the calendar.
5. 5If you are a tester, submit the application, signed agreement, certificate and gauge report together.

• "Any certified tester will do." The city has to recognize the tester as well.
• "A gauge report lasts as long as the gauge." It expires after one year.
• "Only the tester is affected by a late record." The record is what shows the city the assembly was tested, so the owner needs it filed too. Under 8-1-13(A)(a), water service may be terminated when testing records have not been timely provided.
• "There is no way back after suspension." The code provides a written appeal to the Water Resources Director.