Backflow Testing in San Bernardino, CA

Signs it is time for a backflow visit

• A letter from SBMWD's cross-connection staff says a test or maintenance report is due
• An inspection of your property flagged a hazard and called for a device
• The relief port on a reduced pressure assembly drips or dumps water
• You took over a shop, a rental or a home with irrigation and found no test paperwork
• Pressure dropped at the hose bibbs after work was done near the meter
• A remodel added a boiler, a fire line or a new irrigation zone

How backflow rules work with SBMWD

The San Bernardino Municipal Water Department is the city-owned water utility, and its Cross-Connection Control Program carries out the state's Title 17 requirements. Staff inspect industrial, commercial and some residential properties for cross connection hazards, and where one exists, a backflow prevention device has to go in. The department posts its Rules and Regulations No. 22 on cross-connection control, standard installation drawings, a test and maintenance report form and a partial list of certified backflow testers, so the paperwork is laid out before anyone opens a test cock.

SBMWD maintains the pipe from the main up to the meter. The underground line from the meter to the building, and everything past the meter, is the customer's, and that is where a required assembly normally sits. SBMWD water is entirely local groundwater from the Bunker Hill Basin and runs hard; its 2025 report lists an average of 242.2 mg/L. Mineral deposits are a common reason check valves and relief valves stop sealing, so a failed result here often means cleaning or rebuilding the internals rather than replacing the whole unit.

What changes the price

• Test only, or test plus repair. A passing test is short; a failed check or relief valve adds parts, labor and a retest.
• Assembly type and size. Reduced pressure assemblies have more internal parts than double checks, and larger commercial units take longer to rebuild.
• New installation. Adding a device where SBMWD found a hazard means piping changes and may need a permit from the City of San Bernardino Building & Safety Division.
• Access. Units hidden in hedges or boxed into tight cages slow the job down.

What happens when you call

You'll be connected with an independent plumber who works in San Bernardino. Keep SBMWD's notice nearby, say whether you need a routine test, a repair after a failed result or a new device, and read off the make and size printed on the body if you can. If water is pouring from the assembly, a shutoff on your side of the meter can slow it. A break on the utility's side goes to SBMWD's water emergency line at 909-384-5141.