What to do after a failed backflow test

A failing assembly should not be presented as passing because a later repair succeeds. Record the assembly identity, date, field readings, procedure used, tester and gauge information, and the observed reason the test could not pass or be completed. Then follow the receiving water system's failure, repair, and deadline instructions.

Do not use a web guide to decide whether a particular service must be shut down, isolated, repaired immediately, or reported as an emergency. Fire protection, health-care, process, and occupied-building services can require coordination with additional authorities and monitoring parties.

Sources for this section: Washington Administrative Code: cross-connection control; EPA: Protecting Water Quality through Cross-Connection Control and Backflow Prevention; Washington State Department of Health: Backflow prevention assembly field test report.

• Identify the exact assembly: type, make, model, serial, size, location, and protected service.
• Keep the measured values and relevant tightness or condition observations as taken; do not round a marginal result into a pass.
• Record the tester credential and local registration details required by the program, plus the gauge identity and calibration information required on the form.
• Keep the program's correction notice, form instructions, and submission confirmation with the same assembly record.

Sources for this section: Washington State Department of Health: Backflow prevention assembly field test report; Texas Commission on Environmental Quality: Cross-connection control and backflow prevention; Austin Water: Backflow Prevention Assembly Tester Information.

The exact corrective path is local and technical. An authority may require a licensed or separately qualified repairer, an approved replacement model, a permit, an installation inspection, or a specific repair-report form. Washington code illustrates the general structure by requiring defective or inoperative assemblies to be repaired or replaced; it does not tell a reader in another jurisdiction what work they are authorized to perform.

A passing retest should be a new, complete set of readings. It is not a single corrected number pasted onto the failed initial report. Record the work performed and who performed it only to the degree the receiving program's form and authorization require.

Sources for this section: Washington Administrative Code: cross-connection control; Texas Commission on Environmental Quality: Cross-connection control and backflow prevention; USC Foundation: Field-test training tools.

1. 1

   Initial result

   Capture the identifying details, readings, and status exactly as measured.

2. 2

   Program instruction

   Confirm the correction window, recipient, accepted form, and any service-specific coordination requirements.

3. 3

   Authorized corrective work

   Use a properly qualified professional and the approvals required for the location and service.

4. 4

   Full retest

   Retest under the accepted procedure and keep the complete reading set rather than only the final pass indicator.

5. 5

   Submit and retain

   File through the required channel and keep the final submission confirmation with both initial and final records.

Sources for this section: Texas Commission on Environmental Quality: Cross-connection control and backflow prevention; Washington State Department of Health: Backflow prevention assembly field test report; Austin Water: Backflow Prevention Assembly Tester Information.

Debris, wear, freezing, installation conditions, a leaking shutoff, gauge setup, or an incorrect procedure can affect what a tester observes, but the number by itself does not authorize a diagnosis from a distance. Follow the accepted troubleshooting and manufacturer instructions for the exact assembly model.

If the failure involves a fire service or another critical operation, treat the notification and impairment process as a separate safety task. A generic repair article cannot safely replace the local authority, system owner, and applicable fire-protection procedure.

Sources for this section: EPA: Protecting Water Quality through Cross-Connection Control and Backflow Prevention; USC Foundation: Field-test training tools; Washington Administrative Code: cross-connection control.

This guide was reviewed on August 22, 2026. It links to primary public sources where possible and labels state and local examples as examples. It is educational material, not engineering, legal, installation, certification, or water-system approval advice.

• EPA: Protecting Water Quality through Cross-Connection Control and Backflow Prevention

  Definitions, assembly/device distinction, program elements, and incident-response context.

• USC Foundation: Field-test training tools

  Current Foundation materials distinguish the RP, DC, PVB, and SVB field-test families.

• Washington State Department of Health: Backflow prevention assembly field test report

  An official example of report guidance; its required and optional fields are specific to Washington.

• Texas Commission on Environmental Quality: Cross-connection control and backflow prevention

  Shows that alternate forms and submission requirements are controlled by the receiving water system.

• Austin Water: Backflow Prevention Assembly Tester Information

  A current local example of receiving-system report fields and submission workflow.

• Washington Administrative Code: cross-connection control

  A state example for hazard assessment, approved protection, certified testing, repair, records, and annual scheduling—not a national rule.

• Washington Administrative Code: field test report content

  A detailed official field-report checklist for facilities, assemblies, readings, repairs, test kits, and tester attestation; use as a Washington example, not a national form.

• California State Water Resources Control Board: Cross-Connection Control Policy Handbook (April 2026)

  A current statewide example of definitions, assembly limits, testing, repair, recordkeeping, and tester-recognition rules.

• Read the repair and troubleshooting guideUse the detailed reference after confirming the applicable procedure and authorization.
• Build a complete report trailSee which report blocks keep initial and retest records reconcilable.
• Review a DCVA report recordUnderstand the two-check reading set a double-check report preserves.