Backflow Testing in Damascus, MD

Signs it is time to call

• Water seeps from the sprinkler device whenever the zones run
• Spring has arrived and the irrigation has not been tested in a year or more
• A fire sprinkler riser has a tag asking for a test
• The house changed hands and nobody has paperwork for the device
• A barn, trough or hose-fed tank is connected to house water with no protection
• The device split during a cold snap

Local conditions in Damascus

Damascus is still a small town at heart, where MD 27, MD 108 and MD 124 meet and family farms and equestrian centers spread out around it. WSSC Water serves the core, and Montgomery County assigns each property a water and sewer category, with some designated for individual wells and onsite systems. On the farm edges, confirm your water service by address before assuming WSSC rules apply.

For WSSC customers, testable assemblies, including irrigation pressure vacuum breakers and RPZs and residential fire sprinkler double checks, get a test every year and right after installation or repair. The work has to be done by a plumber registered with WSSC who is a certified cross-connection technician. Non-testable dual checks are on a five-year rebuild or replacement cycle.

About a third of Damascus housing predates 1980 and another large share went up in the 1980s, an older stock than much of upper Montgomery County, so many irrigation devices are well into their service life. Hose-fed stock tanks and wash-down hoses at barns are cross-connections too; a submerged hose end can siphon dirty water back into the pipes, so a hose bibb vacuum breaker is the minimum there.

What drives the cost

• One device or several across a house and outbuildings
• A pass on the first test or a rebuild followed by a retest
• The type and size of the assembly
• Travel distance to outlying properties
• A replacement that needs a WSSC permit

What happens when you call

The number on this page reaches an independent plumber who serves Damascus. Plumber Washington DC Pros only connects you; the plumber sets the price and the visit time with you. Tell them whether the home is on WSSC water or a well, which devices you have and whether anything is leaking now.