Guide
What a backflow Notice to Comply requires, and what to do first
Most municipal backflow notices ask for one or more of four things by a stated deadline. They are a cross-connection survey, the installation of a device, a test of an existing device, or a repair. Note which one the notice asks for and the date it is due. Then send it to a certified tester so the right work is booked in time.
The four things a notice can ask for
Municipal backflow letters go by different names:
- Notice to Comply
- Notice of Cross Connection Survey
- Order to Comply (Markham, Richmond Hill)
- non-compliance letter (Peel)
Most notices ask for one or more of these four things (some programs also ask for an Information Request Form: Markham and Aurora use one, and Vaughan sends one first):
| The notice says | What it means | Who can do it |
|---|---|---|
| Complete a cross-connection survey | A qualified surveyor inspects the whole property's water system, records every cross-connection and its hazard level, and files a survey report | A certified Cross-Connection Control Specialist in a trade the program authorises for surveys, usually an engineer, technologist or licensed plumber. In Hamilton the owner completes the survey for a service of 38 mm or smaller |
| Install a backflow preventer | The survey (or the sector list) says the property needs premise isolation or protection on a specific connection. A device is installed under a building permit and tested | A licensed plumber who also holds cross-connection control certification where the program requires it; in Vaughan, Hamilton and Durham the company must also be registered with the program |
| Test an existing device | The annual test is due, or a device was installed or repaired and needs its test filed | A certified tester registered with that municipality |
| Repair or replace a failed device | A test was filed as a fail. The device must be repaired or replaced, and most programs then require a retest (in Toronto, within 72 hours of the repair) | A licensed plumber and certified tester |
Note what the notice asks for and the date it is due.
Deadlines by program
- City of Toronto: a requested survey by the date in the notice or within 30 days; test reports within 7 days.
- Region of Peel: the survey completed within 60 days of the date on the notice; required devices installed within a year; test reports within 14 days of the test.
- Halton Region: test and survey reports within 28 days; a survey the Region requests within 60 days; a failed device repaired or replaced within 96 hours.
- Region of Durham: the survey submitted through Backflow Solutions Inc. (BSI) within 90 days of the notice; test reports within 28 days of the test.
- Markham: survey and test reports within 14 days of the survey or test.
- Aurora: test reports within 15 days of the test; a device the survey calls for within 90 days.
- Vaughan: an Information Request Form for each property within 30 days of the City's first notice. Then the survey within 30 days of the City's notice, filed within 14 days of the survey; test reports within 14 days of the test.
- Richmond Hill: the survey report by the date printed on the notice; test reports within 14 days of the test.
- Hamilton: a Cross Connection Survey or a test report, with the City's fee, within 14 days of the survey or test. The Self-Assessed Survey for a service of 38 mm or smaller is free.
What to do the day the notice arrives
- Photograph or scan it and note the date printed on it.
- Confirm who is responsible. In some programs the notice can be addressed to the owner, the property manager or a tenant. Forward it to whoever will book the work.
- Find your devices. Check the mechanical room, the meter room, and any irrigation or fire-line connections for tags from previous tests. A tag tells us the device type and the last test date.
- Send us the notice. Attach it to a booking request. We reply with what the notice requires, whether a site visit is needed first, and the earliest dates.
- Book early. Installations need a permit, and every visit needs access. Leave time.
What happens after the work
Each of the four requests has a document the municipality expects back:
- a survey report;
- a permit and first-test report;
- an annual test report;
- a retest report after a repair.
We file that document with the municipality and send you a copy for your records. Filing is online where the program provides it: Toronto's form, BSI for Durham and the city portals in York. Peel takes the original survey documents by mail or delivery at its Backflow Prevention office. The next test date goes into our schedule, so you receive a reminder before the next notice.
Do not assume a passing annual test satisfies a survey request. The test covers one device. Where the municipality has asked for a survey, a passing test does not replace it: a branch connection upstream of the device is unprotected, whatever the test shows. See the cross-connection survey guide.
Questions
I received a notice but I am not the owner. Can I ignore it?
No. Some programs, Halton's for example, define the owner to include tenants and occupants. The deadline applies regardless. Forward the notice to the owner or property manager the same day, and tell us who the site contact is.
The notice mentions a "premise isolation" device. What is that?
A backflow preventer installed on the incoming water service, right after the meter, so the whole property is isolated from the municipal system. The type, a reduced-pressure assembly (RPZ) or a double check valve assembly (DCVA), depends on the hazard class. Toronto's and Vaughan's by-laws list hazard levels by sector. Elsewhere the survey identifies the hazard; in Peel, Halton and Hamilton the Region or City then sets the device.
What if the deadline has already passed?
Book the work anyway. Then contact the program, say when the work is booked and ask for more time.