Backflow installation and testing for homes in Kitchener-Waterloo

Backflow is water flowing the wrong way: out of a building's plumbing and back into the city's drinking water lines. It can happen when the pressure in the city main drops, for example during a water main break or when a fire hydrant is opened, and the water in your pipes gets pulled backward. If that water has been in contact with a garden hose left in a pail, a boiler or a commercial dishwasher, it can carry chemicals or bacteria with it.

A backflow preventer is a valve assembly that lets water flow into your building and stops it from flowing back out. Small devices protect a single fixture, such as a vacuum breaker on an outdoor tap. Larger assemblies, such as a double check valve or a reduced pressure zone assembly, often called an RPZ, protect the whole building where the water service enters from the street.

For homes, backflow protection usually comes up when you add a boiler or a water treatment system, or when a renovation changes the plumbing. We install the right device for the connection, so your household water and the city supply stay separate.

Commercial, industrial and institutional properties, and many apartment buildings, are usually required by their municipality to have a testable backflow preventer where the water service enters the building. We install new assemblies, on a new water service, when a business moves into a space or when an old device has to be replaced, and test them before they go into service. After that, each assembly is tested at least once a year by a certified tester, and the results go to the municipality. If your city has sent a notice that your annual test is due, we can test the device and explain what the results mean.