Texas requires backflow prevention assemblies that protect against a health hazard to be tested at least once a year, and only a TCEQ-licensed Backflow Prevention Assembly Tester may perform the test. In Fort Worth, commercial assemblies are tested annually and the results must be submitted to the water utility through the city's reporting system. The property owner is legally responsible for compliance.
Yes. Under Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) rules in 30 TAC 290.44(h), every backflow prevention assembly must be tested when it is installed, and any assembly protecting against a health hazard must be tested and certified as working correctly at least annually. Fort Worth applies annual testing across its commercial backflow assemblies as part of its cross-connection control program.
Only a tester who holds a current TCEQ Backflow Prevention Assembly Tester (BPAT) license. Texas law requires anyone who tests or repairs these assemblies to be licensed, which involves a TCEQ-approved 40-hour course plus written and practical exams. A property manager, a maintenance tech, or a general handyman cannot legally certify the test, and an uncertified report will not satisfy the city.
Fort Worth's cross-connection ordinance requires assemblies on a range of commercial situations, including:
For the exact list that applies to your building, Fort Worth Code Section 12.5-528 is the governing reference. Our licensed team performs commercial backflow testing and certification and files the report for you.
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Testing frequency | At least annually (plus on install, repair, or relocation) |
| Who can test | A TCEQ-licensed BPAT tester only |
| Who submits results | The tester, through Fort Worth's reporting system |
| Who is responsible | The property owner or party in control of the premises |
In Fort Worth, test results are filed through the city's contracted reporting system rather than handed to you on paper. An incomplete or inaccurate report is treated as a failed inspection, so using a tester who knows the local filing process matters.
Under the state rule, a water system can require compliance and can discontinue or deny water service for a cross-connection violation, and Fort Worth's ordinance makes it an offense to knowingly fail to install and maintain required assemblies. Responsibility sits with the owner or the party in control of the premises, even if a lease shifts the cost to a tenant. The practical risk is bigger than a citation: a failed assembly can let contaminated water flow backward into the potable supply.
Our TCEQ-licensed testers inventory every assembly, test them, and file the reports with the city.
Backflow is water flowing the wrong way through your plumbing, from your building back toward the public supply, carrying whatever was in your pipes with it. It happens two ways. Backsiphonage is a sudden drop in supply pressure, from a water main break or heavy fire-department draw nearby, that creates suction and pulls water backward. Backpressure is the opposite, where a system inside your building, a boiler, a booster pump, or an elevated tank, pushes at a higher pressure than the incoming line and forces water back into it. Either way, a cross-connection between clean water and a contaminant becomes a path for that contaminant to reach drinking water. A backflow prevention assembly is the mechanical check that stops it, and testing confirms the check still works.
Not every connection needs the same device, and the hazard level decides which one is required. The four you will see most on commercial property are the reduced pressure zone assembly (RPZ), the double check valve assembly (DCVA), the pressure vacuum breaker (PVB), and the atmospheric vacuum breaker (AVB). The RPZ is the highest level of protection, used on high-hazard connections, and it has a relief valve that dumps water if the assembly fails so contaminated water never gets through. A DCVA suits lower, non-health-hazard applications. Getting the right device for the hazard, and installing it in the correct orientation with proper clearances, is as important as testing it, and it is where a lot of older installations fall short.
A backflow test is quick but exacting. The tester attaches a calibrated test kit to the assembly's test cocks, closes the shutoffs in sequence, and measures whether the check valves hold and the relief valve opens at the correct pressure differential. A typical assembly takes roughly 30 minutes, and an RPZ takes a little longer because there are more points to verify. The result is a pass or fail with recorded pressure readings, tester license number, and device details. In Fort Worth that report is filed through the city's reporting system, not just handed to you, so using a tester who knows the local filing process avoids a report bouncing back as incomplete.
Assemblies fail for ordinary reasons: worn rubber seats and springs, debris lodged under a check, or corrosion after years in service. Most failures are rebuildable on the spot with the right kit, which is why a good tester carries them and can test, repair, and retest in one visit. The bigger seasonal risk in North Texas is freezing. Yard-mounted RPZ and double-check assemblies are among the first casualties of every hard DFW freeze, and a cracked relief valve or body means no water, or no fire protection, until it is replaced during the week every plumber in the Metroplex is slammed. Insulated enclosures, heat tape where power is available, and a drain-down plan for hard-freeze forecasts prevent nearly all of it, which is why we fold freeze protection into the assemblies we test.
General information, not legal advice. Rules and filing systems change, so confirm current requirements with Fort Worth Water or a TCEQ-licensed tester before you act.
Our licensed testers certify your assemblies and file the report with the city.