Licensed plumbers, written pricing, based in Danbury
Connecticut’s cross connection control program requires an annual certified backflow test on commercial properties, irrigation systems, and any connection that could send contaminated water back into the public supply. Action Construction installs, repairs, and performs that certified annual testing in Danbury, CT, and files the results with the water authority so the property stays compliant.
A backflow preventer is a valve assembly that stops water from reversing direction and flowing back into the potable supply. A pressure drop in the public main, from a hydrant draw, a water main break, or heavy demand during a fire, can pull water backward through any cross connection, and without a preventer that back siphoned water carries whatever it touched on the way, lawn chemicals, boiler treatment, or process water, into the drinking supply.
Connecticut’s cross connection control program, run through the Department of Public Health and enforced by the local water authority, requires these assemblies on commercial buildings, lawn irrigation systems, boiler make up lines, fire suppression systems, and other cross connections. If your property has an irrigation system, a boiler, a commercial kitchen, or a fire sprinkler service, it almost certainly has at least one assembly the water authority expects tested every year, and often more than one.
Each assembly has to be tested by a plumber who holds the state backflow tester certification every year, with the results filed with the water authority. We perform the test with a calibrated differential pressure gauge, closing the shutoffs, opening the test cocks in sequence, and watching how each check holds pressure and at what point the relief valve opens. That takes 20 to 30 minutes per device on most assemblies. On a first visit we also survey the property for cross connections that are not yet protected, a hose bibb without a vacuum breaker, an irrigation tie in, a boiler feed, since an unprotected connection found later is a violation the same as a failed test. We submit every report for you so nothing lapses.
If you have received a testing notice with a deadline, that notice sets the clock. An untested assembly can lead to a violation and, for a continued lapse, the water authority is authorized to interrupt service until the test is filed. Testing several devices on one visit lowers the cost per device.
When an assembly fails its test, the internal checks or the relief valve usually need a rebuild kit, and older brass bodies sometimes need full replacement. We stock rebuild kits for the common makes and can often repair and retest on the same trip so the property does not sit noncompliant while a part is ordered.
New installations are
Because we also handle the plumbing behind the assembly, a failed device causing pressure or water quality complaints gets diagnosed as part of the system, not just swapped.
Irrigation backflow assemblies sit outside and are exposed to freezing. We handle the spring startup and test when the system is recharged, and the fall winterization that blows the lines down and drains or removes the assembly so it does not crack over a western Connecticut winter. A cracked assembly discovered in April is a replacement and a delayed startup on top of it, so the fall service pays for itself.
Backflow work is one line item on our broader commercial plumbing services, and a failed assembly on a domestic line can present as pressure or water quality problems that first look like a hidden leak.
The full list is on our Danbury plumbing services hub.
The two types we see most are the double check valve assembly, used on lower hazard connections such as lawn irrigation and some fire lines, and the reduced pressure zone assembly, used where the hazard is higher, such as a boiler with chemical treatment or a commercial process line. A reduced pressure assembly has a relief port that discharges water if the internal checks foul, so a puddle under one after a pressure event usually means it did its job and now needs service, not that it is broken. Assemblies mounted outside for irrigation fail most often from freeze damage and grit in the first check.
Assemblies in mechanical rooms fail from
For lake area properties with irrigation drawing from a well or the lake, the assembly and the annual test still apply wherever that system ties into anything connected to the potable supply, and we sort out which rules apply to your setup. We record the make, model, and serial on the report so the next annual test starts from a known history.
It is an annual certified test that confirms the backflow assembly still prevents reverse flow. It takes about 20 to 30 minutes per device using a calibrated gauge. The cost is a modest flat fee per assembly, lower per device when several are tested in one visit, with repair or replacement quoted separately if a device fails.
The price reflects the certified tester license, the calibrated gauge that has to be sent out for recertification, and the report filing with the water authority, not just the minutes on site. Testing multiple devices in one visit spreads that fixed cost and lowers the per device price.
A plumber who holds the state backflow tester certification does. We perform certified testing and also install and repair the assemblies, so a failed test can be corrected and retested without a second company or a gap in compliance while parts are ordered.
No. Connecticut requires the annual test to be performed by a certified tester using calibrated equipment, with the results filed with the water utility. A property owner cannot self certify.
The water authority can issue a violation, and for a continued lapse it may interrupt service until the assembly is tested and the report is filed. Catching up is usually a single test visit, so book it as soon as a notice arrives rather than waiting for a second letter.
Licensed & Insured | Residential & Commercial | Serving CT & NY