Backflow Prevention Testing in NYC
Keep Your Water Clean And Your Record Clean
A backflow preventer stops contaminated water from your building's systems from being pulled back into the city supply when pressure drops. NYC DEP requires these devices on many properties, and requires each one to be tested every year.
HEPCO tests your RPZ or double check valve assembly, repairs it on the spot if it fails, and files the results with DEP. One visit, one call, no paperwork on your end.
Properties That Typically Need Testing
- Buildings with fire sprinkler or standpipe systems
- Boiler rooms, booster pumps, and cooling towers
- Restaurants, laundromats, and car washes
- Medical offices, labs, and dental practices
- Irrigation and landscape water systems
- Commercial, industrial, and mixed-use buildings
- Any property that received a DEP backflow notice
What a Backflow Preventer Does
Backflow is water running the wrong way, from your building back into the city main, carrying boiler chemicals, stagnant sprinkler water and the like into your neighbors' drinking water. A backflow preventer stops it with check valves that only open one way.
Left to right: check #1, the space between the checks, check #2. On an RPZ, a relief valve hangs below, fed supply pressure by the sensing line. Relief closed.
Water flows in, never back
City pressure pushes the check valves open and water flows into the building. Each check is spring-loaded to shut the moment flow stops or tries to reverse. On an RPZ, check #1 also keeps the space between the checks a few psi below supply, which holds the relief valve shut.
- Supply
- 60 psi
- Between checks
- 53 psi
- Building
- 51 psi
How Backflow Testing Works
Most tests take under an hour, with a short planned water shutdown so the building isn't disrupted.
Schedule
Call us with your address and device details, or send us the DEP notice. We book a time that suits the building.
Field Test
A certified tester connects a calibrated test kit and checks the relief valve and each check valve against DEP pass criteria.
Repair if Needed
If the assembly fails, we rebuild or replace worn checks, springs, and seals on site, then retest until it passes.
File with DEP
We complete the annual test report, file it with DEP, and send you a copy for your records.
Every Common Backflow Assembly
Whatever device DEP requires at your property, we test it, repair it, and keep it on schedule.
Reduced Pressure Zone (RPZ)
Two check valves with a relief valve between them. Required for high-hazard connections like boilers, labs, and chemical systems.
Double Check Valve Assembly
Two independent check valves for lower-hazard connections, commonly found on fire sprinkler and standpipe lines.
Pressure Vacuum Breakers
Protects irrigation and outdoor water systems from backsiphonage. Tested annually just like the larger assemblies.
Installation & Replacement
New or upsized assemblies installed by a Licensed Master Plumber, with the initial test and DEP paperwork handled.
Backflow Testing Questions
Straight answers about NYC backflow requirements, testing, and DEP filing.
NYC DEP requires every backflow prevention device to be tested at least once a year, and again after it is installed, repaired, or relocated. The test has to be performed by a New York State certified backflow tester, and the results filed with DEP.
Many NYC properties do: buildings with fire sprinkler or standpipe systems, boilers and booster pumps, irrigation, restaurants, labs, medical offices, and most commercial and industrial sites. If DEP has sent you a letter or a violation, you need one. We can survey the property and tell you which device type is required.
A failed test usually means a worn check valve, a fouled relief valve, or debris in the assembly. We can rebuild or repair it on the spot in most cases, retest it, and file the passing results so your record with DEP stays clean.
DEP tracks test filings for every registered device. A missed test can lead to violations, fines, and in serious cases interruption of water service. Scheduling the test before the due date avoids all of that.
Yes. After the test we complete the annual test report and handle the DEP filing, and you get a copy for your records. You do not have to deal with the paperwork.
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