You Got a Backflow Test Notice From Your Water Utility. Now What?
Tavish Murray owns TJ Backflow Testing and Repair Services in Sanford, FL. Certified backflow tester #7337 and Florida-licensed drinking water (DW #A20193) and wastewater (WW #A16614) operator.
The short version
The notice means the backflow preventer on your meter, irrigation line or fire line is due for its annual test and your utility has no passing report on file. Read the notice for who is expected to do the test — Longwood, Casselberry and Altamonte Springs test residential devices themselves; Sanford, Lake Mary, Winter Springs, Oviedo and Orlando expect you to hire a certified tester. Either way, a report has to reach the utility before the date on the letter, or the meter can be locked.
Every year a batch of letters goes out from City of Sanford Utilities, Seminole County, Lake Mary, Winter Springs, Oviedo, OUC and Orange County telling people their backflow prevention assembly is due for testing. Most people have never looked at the device the letter is about. A fair number do not know they have one. Here is what the letter means and what to do with it.
For context on who is writing this: TJ Backflow is a certified backflow tester (certification #7337) based in Sanford, and the owner also holds Florida drinking water and wastewater operator licenses. We test and repair these devices across Seminole County. We also turn down a fair number of tests, which you will see below.
What the device is and why the utility cares
A backflow preventer is a valve assembly on your water service. Water is supposed to flow one way — from the main, through the meter, into your property. Under the wrong conditions it can flow the other way: a pressure drop in the main when a hydrant opens, or pressure on your side from a pump or an elevated tank. When that happens, whatever is on your side of the meter can get pulled into the public main. Fertilizer in the sprinkler line. Water from a private well. Chemicals from a commercial process.
The device stops that. Inside it are spring-loaded check valves, and on a reduced pressure zone assembly a relief valve as well. Those parts wear out, and they wear out silently — the device looks the same from the outside whether it holds or not. That is why Florida rule 62-555.360 requires every public water system to run a cross-connection control program, and why those programs require a certified tester to put a gauge on the device every year and prove it still works.
Who does the test, city by city
This is the part most people get wrong, and it is the part that decides whether you should call anyone at all. Seminole County cities do not run their programs the same way.
Cities that test residential devices themselves
- Longwood tests residential devices for a $40 fee — testing only, no repairs. Owners get 90 days from the notice to submit a test or schedule one. If you would rather use a private tester, the city accepts reports sent directly by the tester or emailed by you. Details are on the Longwood page.
- Casselberry requires a device on every potable and irrigation meter and, as of October 2024, tests irrigation devices every two years through its own contractor. Testers carry city badges and give same-day results. If a device fails, the city tells you to have it repaired by any certified company and schedule a retest. More on the Casselberry page.
- Altamonte Springs tests residential devices at no charge and replaces the dual checks on reclaimed-water lots on a five-year cycle. Private testers here are for commercial and multi-device accounts. See the Altamonte Springs page.
If you live in one of those three cities and the notice is about a standard residential device, use the city program. Paying us on top of it is wasted money, and we will tell you that on the phone.
Cities where you hire the tester
Sanford, Lake Mary, Winter Springs, Oviedo and Orlando (both OUC and Orange County) have not published a city-run residential testing program. The notice tells you to have the device tested by a certified tester and to get the report to the utility. That is the ordinary case, and it is what we do.
One catch that applies everywhere: the report has to go to your purveyor. A Sanford mailing address can be on Seminole County water. A Lake Mary address in Heathrow is on the county, not the city. An Orlando property is on OUC or Orange County depending on the street. The name on your water bill is the authority, and a report filed with the wrong program has not been filed.
What happens if you ignore the letter
The utility sends a second notice, and then it can shut the water off. Longwood's program page says non-compliance can result in the city disconnecting water service. Casselberry's says failure to install, test or repair will result in termination of irrigation water service. These are not fines you can pay instead. The meter gets locked until a passing report is on file, and unlocking it happens on the utility's schedule, not yours.
For a house, that is a bad week. For a restaurant or a medical office, it is a closed business. Commercial accounts get treated as higher hazard and get less patience.
What to do this week
- Read the notice for two things: the date, and who it says should do the test. If it names a city program, call the city.
- Find the device. It is usually at the meter, or on the irrigation line near where it leaves the house. Make sure it is reachable — cut back the plants, find the enclosure key.
- Get the make and model off it. It is stamped on the body. If you tell the tester in advance, the right rebuild kit is on the truck in case it fails, and a failed test becomes a same-visit repair instead of a second appointment.
- Book the test to the date on the letter, not the week after. A device that fails needs a repair and a retest before the deadline, and that takes time.
TJ Backflow — certified testing and repair across Seminole County, filed with the right utility, quoted before the visit. If your city already tests for you, we will say so.
FAQ
What is a backflow preventer?
A valve assembly on your water service that stops water from your property flowing backwards into the public main. It protects the neighborhood's drinking water from whatever is on your side of the meter — fertilizer in the sprinkler line, a well, a boiler, a commercial process.
Why does it need testing every year?
Because the check valves and relief valve inside wear out silently. A device can look fine and not hold. Florida requires every public water system to run a cross-connection control program, and annual testing by a certified tester is how those programs verify the devices work.
What happens if I ignore the notice?
The utility follows up, then it can shut your water off. Longwood and Casselberry both say so on their program pages. It is not a bluff and it is not a fine you can pay instead — the meter gets locked until a passing report is on file.
Who is supposed to do the test — me, the city, or a company?
It depends on the city. Longwood, Casselberry and Altamonte Springs test residential devices themselves under their own programs. Sanford, Lake Mary, Winter Springs, Oviedo and Orlando expect you to hire a certified tester. The notice says which — read it before you call anyone.
Holding a notice? Call the tester.
Read us the notice. We tell you who it says should do the test, what it costs if that is us, and — if your city already tests for you — that you do not need us at all.