Drinking water, kept separate
Backflow preventers in Aurora
A backflow preventer stops water from an irrigation system, a boiler, or another non-drinking use from being pulled back into the potable supply. It is not a sewer backwater valve.
Why a letter shows up
Utilities test these assemblies because a failed device is a cross connection. Englewood's permit page lists adding or replacing backflow preventers among work that needs a permit. This guide did not retrieve Aurora's testing calendar, so it will not invent an annual deadline or a fine. If your water utility mailed you, the deadline and the device location are on that letter. Bring the letter to the tester. Do not assume it is about the sewer.
The person who tests and signs the report often has to hold a tester certification the utility accepts. Ask for that before you hire a general handyman. This website is not that tester and does not file the report for you.
Repair versus a new assembly
A test can fail on a check valve or a relief valve that can be repaired, or it can fail because the assembly is the wrong type or frozen and split. Repair and replacement are different prices. Ask which. Irrigation blow-outs for winterization should not be forced through an assembly that is not meant to see compressor pressure. Ask the tester.
Sewage devices stay on the backwater page.
Questions to settle first
Is this the valve in the sewer line?
No. Backflow preventers are on the drinking-water side, often on irrigation or fire piping. A backwater valve is in the drain to stop sewage. The mail from a water utility is almost always the drinking-water device. Read the location on the notice.
Does Aurora require a test every year?
Not from a schedule this guide retrieved. Do not let a contractor invent a city fine. Use the letter from the utility that serves the address. Englewood does say that adding or replacing the device needs a building permit. Ask your own building department too.
Can anyone with a wrench sign the test?
The utility usually wants a tester it recognizes. Ask who signs and where the report is sent. This website does not submit tests. A repair without a passing test may not clear the letter. Ask them to write that limit into the quote before you compare it with another company.
The assembly froze. Is that winterization or a replacement?
Both conversations. Draining irrigation before a freeze is winterization. A split body is a replacement or a repair after the fact. Put the test of the new assembly on the quote so the utility letter actually closes. Ask them to write that limit into the quote before you compare it with another company.
