Backflow Preventer Failure Can Lead To a Shutdown of Your Business
Working with some business owners on backflow preventer testing and repairs we have seen the lack of knowledge of business owners, management companies and facility managers about the importance of holding an up to date backflow testing certificate. The backflow preventer requirements have been refreshed in the last two years and just recently local town building and plumbing departments have started to enforce the law’s requirements. As a result, many business owners have received the backflow preventer letter requiring them to do backflow testing and submit the backflow testing and repair results to local plumbing departments and DEP.
As one of a few examples that we know of, a Target store in New Jersey recently had the Fire Marshall shut down the store in the middle of the day as their backflow preventer failed to protect the public water. The loss of one day of business as a result of closing a store or occupied commercial or industrial building with clients, consumers or tenants can be even a few hundred thousand dollars a day of unrecoverable loss, which according to our knowledge, there is no insurance that would cover this loss.
A fire marshal or plumber from the building department of your town of the DEP are the authority to enforce the law and are responsible for the public water. Any contamination that will occur through a broken or failed backflow preventer valve will cause the public water to be expose to poisoned materials that will go directly into people’s faucets and refrigerators and other appliances that will put people in danger. No one wants the liability of having the water contaminated just because a backflow valve that needed to be repaired.
Local town laws require property managers and business owners in commercial and industrial properties are conduct annual backflow prevention testing not by just any plumber, but only a plumber that is certified to check backflow valves and provide you with test results that ensure that your backflow valve will prevent any leaking from the backflow preventer to the public water. Recently, homeowners are even required by the town to conduct backflow preventer testing when they buy or sell their home, remodify a plumbing system or installing a new irrigation system so sooner or later every house on the block will have to have the certification for the single backflow valve installed on the property.
Backflow prevention testing is a very simple process for an experienced backflow prevention company, it requires you to schedule an appointment as the backflow company will need to shut off the water for the backflow testing, usually no more than 15 minutes, most of the time, the backflow valve passes the testing without any repairs so you can continue to operate your business without any disturbance. In the event backflow precenter repair is needed, the backflow company needs to have the right backflow preventer repair kit for your backflow preventer model, we carry most backflow repair kits in our store, ready to go to save you the time and the hassle and as much as possible repair it as quickly as possible in order to keep your backflow preventer in good standing and without having to report a backflow valve failure to the authorities.