Backflow Testing in Bowie, MD

Signs you need a backflow visit

• A letter says a testable assembly at your address is due for its annual test
• Water trickles from the relief port or a test cock when the sprinklers run
• You bought a house with an in-ground irrigation system and no test history came with it
• A previous test failed and nobody came back to repair and retest
• You are adding sprinkler zones, a hose-fed fertilizer setup or a boiler with chemical treatment
• The device is cracked, leaking at the unions or crusted with corrosion

How it works in Bowie

The City of Bowie runs its own water system, built by the Levitt Corporation in the early 1960s and serving roughly 7,900 customers in sections such as Somerset, Tulip Grove, Kenilworth, Yorktown, Whitehall and Overbrook. That system draws on wells in the Magothy, Patapsco and Patuxent aquifers. If your street is in one of those sections, ask the City water plant at 301-809-3060 what it expects for backflow assemblies before you assume a schedule.

The rest of Bowie is WSSC Water territory, so a neighbor a few streets away can be on a different system than you. There the WSSC Plumbing and Fuel Gas Code applies: testable assemblies on irrigation lines, residential fire sprinkler systems and chemically treated boilers get tested every year, and again after they are installed, repaired or moved. WSSC does not send its own staff to test; the owner hires a qualified plumber. In Prince George's County, plumbing permits come from WSSC, not the county.

What affects the cost

• Pass or fail. A clean pass is a short visit; a failed check or relief valve adds parts, labor and a retest.
• Device type. An RPZ has more internal parts than a pressure vacuum breaker or double check.
• Reachability. An assembly behind shrubs, in a tight utility room or inside a buried box takes longer.
• Repair or replace. An older, corroded body may make a new assembly the better value.
• Paperwork. Ask whether filing the result with the utility is included.

What happens when you call

The call reaches an independent plumber who works in Bowie. Say whether your water bill comes from the City of Bowie or WSSC, describe what the device protects, and have any letter you received nearby. If water is pouring from the assembly, close the irrigation shutoff or the main valve until the plumber arrives.