From The Colony website regarding backflow prevention:

Responsibilities

• Provides a safe potable water supply for personal use, sanitation and recreation for the citizens of The Colony
• Provides maintenance of water and wastewater lines, water meter readings, and customer service.
• Provides safe potable water supply for personal use, sanitation, recreation and fire protection for the citizens of The Colony
• Provides monitoring of water quality, operation of water pump stations, and maintenance and operation of well sites.

You will notice not a word is said about backflow prevention in that excerpt; we will now clarify so that you understand your responsibilities as a property owner in The Colony.

What is backflow prevention?

What is mentioned in The Colony’s information about backflow prevention is potable water.  You will notice it is mentioned twice within those four bullet points. That is what backflow prevention is all about, keeping the city’s potable water supply safe from contaminants which are delivered when backflow happens.

Backflow occurs when the water supply reverses direction and flow.  In other words, when water on your property, already used and contaminated, reverses direction in the pipes and flows back towards the water supply of The Colony.

This happens more often than you know.  It can happen when there is a broken water main.  It can happen if there is a fire and several fire hydrants are opened at the same time.  It can happen if there is a leak in a water main. Anything which disrupts water pressure in the water distribution pipes can cause the water to reverse direction.

To prevent that from happening, all cities in the United States have what is called a cross-connection program, or a backflow prevention program, in conjunction with the Clean Water Act of 1972. This backflow prevention program calls for annual backflow inspection, backflow repairs, and backflow installations for properties in the city designated as high-risk backflow properties.

Is your property on the backflow inspection list?

The only way to find this out is to call The Colony Public Works Department and ask them.  If your property is not designated as high risk, you will not need to have a backflow inspection.  If it is high risk, you will need an annual backflow inspection by a licensed and certified backflow inspection/technician.

That technician will come to your property, inspect your backflow parts and backflow system, and make any repairs if necessary. They will then fill out the required forms and file them with The Colony backflow department.

We are City Backflow Testing, a licenses and certified backflow inspection company handling backflow prevention in The Colony as well as most of Tarrant County.  Call us at (817) 996-2000 if you have questions about backflow prevention.

We use USC 10^th Addition Testing Procedures:

• Notify- Notify the customer we are here for testing
• Identify- Make sure serial number is correct and that we have the right assembly
• Inspect- Make sure there are 4 test ports and 2 Shut off handles
• Observe- Attach test equipment and follow proper testing  procedures  for this assembly
• Test Reports- Enter values for the  assemblies
• Turn in all test Reports to the local water Purveyor or City

Give us a call!