Queen Creek backflow testing: annual reports go through BSI Online, with a $14.95 filing fee

The Town's Backflow Information page sets out the rules in a few blocks.

• Reports go online. "As of September 15, 2014, all annual backflow assembly test reports must be submitted electronically via the BSI Online system." The tester copies the results from the field report into the site rather than scanning it.
• The tester needs your number. The page tells testers to get the Customer Confirmation Number (CCN) from the customer, because it is needed to open the customer's records.
• Credentials must be current. Each tester needs a current backflow tester license and up-to-date test kit calibration certificates on file with BSI. If they are not current, "your test reports will not be accepted and your customers will be listed as non-compliant."
• There is a filing fee. "The filing fee for backflow assemblies in Queen Creek is $14.95 per test report." The tester pays it when filing, by credit card or by prepaying an account. It is charged per assembly report.
• New assemblies get a free first year. For a brand new assembly (not counting replacements) or a previously unknown one, there is no filing fee the first year, and the report can be faxed, emailed or mailed to BSI.

That is the extent of the Town page. It says the reports are annual, but it does not list which properties must have an assembly and does not give a due date or a repair deadline. Those sit in the Town Code, which the Town serves as documents rather than on Municode, so this page does not quote them.

• Backflow assembly: the valve device on a water service that keeps used water from flowing back into the drinking supply.
• CCN (Customer Confirmation Number): the number BSI uses to match a report to the water customer's record. The tester needs it to file, and the page tells the tester to get it from the customer.
• Non-compliant: the status BSI shows for a customer whose report was not accepted or not filed. The Town page says a lapsed tester credential produces this status for the customer, not only for the tester.
• Filing fee: the per-report charge paid to BSI for tracking, separate from what the tester charges you for the test.

The page speaks to testers ("you, the contractor") and to water customers. It applies to any customer with a backflow assembly on a Queen Creek water service. Which properties must have one is set in the Town Code, not on this page.

A dental office in a leased suite. The owner has never heard of BSI. The lease makes the tenant responsible for the assembly, so the tenant asks the tester to schedule the annual test and hands over the CCN. The tester files online. The tenant's only cost of the program is whatever the tester passes on for the filing fee, and the fee is the tester's to pay, not a bill from the Town.

A tester whose calibration certificate lapsed. The test was done correctly, but the test kit's calibration certificate on file with BSI expired last month. Under the Town page, the report is not accepted, and the customer, who did nothing wrong, is listed as non-compliant. The fix is to upload the current certificate and refile. Ask any tester you hire whether their credentials are current with BSI before the test.

The edge case: an assembly nobody knew about. A new owner finds an old assembly in a landscape vault that is not in the Town's records. The page treats "previously unknown" assemblies like new ones: no filing fee the first year, and the report goes straight to BSI by fax, email or mail. That removes the cost barrier to reporting one, which is the reason to report it.

1. 1Find your last backflow notice or account record and locate your Customer Confirmation Number. If you cannot, call BSI's water customer line at 888-966-6050.
2. 2Hire a licensed backflow tester and ask whether their license and test kit certificates are current with BSI. BSI's testing company line, 1-800-414-4990, can give you a list of backflow specialists in the area.
3. 3Give the tester the CCN and the assembly location, size and make.
4. 4Ask for a copy of the filed report, and check your status with BSI after it is submitted.
5. 5If the assembly fails, have it repaired and retested, then have the tester file the new report. Ask the Town for the repair deadline that applies to you, since this page does not state one.

• "The Town sends its own inspector." Testing is done by a private licensed tester. BSI tracks the results for the Town.
• "The filing fee is a Town bill." The Town page has the tester pay it at filing. Testers may pass it on, which is a matter between you and them.
• "A report on paper is enough." Since 2014 the Town has required reports through BSI Online, with the exception noted for new and previously unknown assemblies.
• "Every Valley city runs it this way." Gilbert's code sets a 45 day repair window and runs its own recognized tester list. Mesa gives 15 calendar days for defects found between tests. Scottsdale tests yearly after a City notice and gives 45 days from the notice to repair a failed assembly. Queen Creek's page does not state a repair window.