Commercial Plumbing in Redlands, CA

What are Redlands' backflow testing rules?

Redlands' Cross-Connection Control Plan covers every backflow prevention assembly with active water service. Each one has to be field tested at least once a year, and again after installation, repair, replacement or relocation, at the owner's expense. Testers must hold a recognized certification and a City business license, submit gauge calibration every year, and file results through the City's BSI Online platform. For a restaurant, a medical office or a building with both a fire service and landscape irrigation, that can mean several assemblies on one schedule, and a failed one means a repair followed by another test.

What's in the water, and how does it affect equipment?

Redlands blends surface water from the Santa Ana River and Mill Creek watersheds with Bunker Hill Basin groundwater, which covers about half of normal demand, and adds State Water Project water during peak demand. The City's 2022 report listed chlorine as the disinfectant and average hardness of 152 mg/L in groundwater and 135 mg/L in treated surface water. That's enough to scale water heaters, boilers, ice machines and dish equipment over time, so flushing and treatment belong on the maintenance calendar. The City reports no lead or galvanized-requiring-replacement service lines in its distribution system and publishes inventory maps. The same utility also serves Mentone, parts of Crafton Hills and San Timoteo Canyon and a small part of San Bernardino.

Who issues permits and handles sewer questions?

The Building & Safety Division's One Stop Permit Center, at 35 Cajon Street, Suite 15A, (909) 798-7536, issues plumbing, building, mechanical and electrical permits, and applications can start on its online portal. Water heater permits can be started online but have to be paid in person before they're issued, which is worth knowing when a heater fails on a busy day. Wastewater treatment is a section of the same utilities department, though sewer service boundaries vary by address; ask the City about anything that touches the connection at the main.

One local note

Commercial buildings in Redlands range widely in age and layout. Tell the plumber roughly when the building went up and whether it has a fire line or irrigation assembly, since those add testing paperwork to many jobs.