The device between
your yard and your drinking water
A backflow preventer stops water from your irrigation system or outside supply being drawn back into the potable line. It is a small assembly doing an important job, and it needs testing to prove it still works.
Why this assembly exists
Most people never think about it until a test is due. Here is what it is actually preventing.
A pressure drop in the main
A break or heavy draw upstream can reverse flow direction. Without a preventer, whatever is in your yard line can travel backwards.
Irrigation sits in the soil
Sprinkler lines hold water that has been in contact with soil, fertiliser and whatever else is on the lawn.
It is leaking or weeping
A backflow assembly that discharges continuously is telling you something inside it has failed.
It has never been tested
These devices have moving parts and rubber seals. They do not stay reliable indefinitely without checking.
It went through a hard freeze
Above-ground assemblies are vulnerable to freeze damage — a real risk here most winters.
You have been asked for a test certificate
Backflow testing requirements are set by your water supplier, and they will tell you what applies to your property.
How a test works
Quick, and the result is either a certificate or a clear list of what needs repairing.
We locate and isolate the assembly
Usually above ground near the irrigation take-off or the meter, depending on how the property was plumbed.
We test it properly
The device is checked to confirm it still does the one thing it exists to do — hold against reverse flow.
You get the result in writing
Documentation you can pass to your water supplier if they have asked for it.
We repair what failed
Rather than handing you a failed test and a list of other people to call. Same crew, same visit where we can.
Backflow Repair & Testing
Small device, serious job
Backflow prevention is one of those parts of plumbing that only makes sense once you picture the failure. Water normally travels one way. If pressure in the main drops sharply — a break down the street, a hydrant opened hard — it can briefly travel the other way instead.
Without a working preventer, that reversal can pull water from your irrigation lines back toward the potable supply. Which is why these assemblies are required, why they get tested, and why “it looked fine” is not the same as passing.
- Backflow prevention assembly testing
- Test documentation for your water supplier
- Repair of assemblies that fail testing
- Replacement where the device is beyond repair
- Freeze damage assessment after a hard winter
- Irrigation system work by the same crew
- Straight answers about what your supplier requires
Freeze is the local hazard
Backflow assemblies typically sit above ground, which around Boerne means they meet every hard freeze head-on. A handful of those most winters is enough to crack a body or split an internal component, and the device can look completely normal from three feet away afterwards.
That is the case for testing after a bad freeze rather than waiting for the next scheduled one — a failed preventer does not announce itself, and the whole value of it is that it works on the day it is needed.
Been asked for a test certificate?
We test, document and repair — usually without needing a second company involved.
Backflow Repair & Testing questions
Still not sure?
Describe it on the phone and we'll tell you straight whether it needs us.
It is an assembly that stops water flowing backwards from your irrigation or outside supply into your drinking water. If pressure in the main drops suddenly, flow can reverse — the preventer is what stops that becoming a contamination problem.
Testing requirements are set by your water supplier and vary by property and device. They will tell you what applies to you; we can carry out the test and provide the documentation.
A device that weeps or discharges continuously is usually telling you an internal component has failed. It is worth looking at, because a failed preventer is not protecting anything.
Yes, and it is one of the more common causes here. These assemblies usually sit above ground and take the full force of a hard freeze. Damage is not always visible from outside, which is why testing matters after a bad winter.
Yes. We would rather fix what the test finds than hand you a failure notice and a list of other people to call.
Often booked alongside this
Backflow testing across the Hill Country
- Alamo Heights, TX
- Alamo Ranch, TX
- Bergheim, TX
- Boerne, TX
- Bulverde, TX
- Castle Hills, TX
- Comfort, TX
- Cross Mountain, TX
- Fair Oaks Ranch, TX
- Helotes, TX
- Hill Country Village, TX
- Hollywood Park, TX
- Kendalia, TX
- Leon Valley, TX
- Nelson City, TX
- Shavano Park, TX
- Sisterdale, TX
- Spring Branch, TX
- Terrell Hills, TX
- Timberwood Park, TX
- Waring, TX
- Windcrest, TX
- All service areas
Need a backflow test?
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Boerne & Fair Oaks Ranch, TX · Licensed Master Plumber M-38925