Backflow happens when water reverses direction and flows from your plumbing back into the public water supply. A drop in main pressure, like a water main break can siphon water backward. A boiler, booster pump, or other pressurized system can push it backward. Whatever is connected to your plumbing can travel with it.
A prevention assembly stops that reversal, but it depends on springs, seals, and check valves that wear, foul, and fatigue over time. That is why Montana DEQ rules call for backflow assemblies in cross-connection control programs to be inspected and tested at least once a year by a certified backflow prevention assembly tester.
Right Now Plumbing and Heating provides backflow testing and prevention for homes and businesses in Missoula, Lolo, Frenchtown, East Missoula, Seeley Lake, Hamilton, Polson, and communities throughout Missoula, Ravalli, Lake, Mineral, and Granite counties.
Missoula Water’s Cross-Connection/Backflow Protection Program requires backflow protection on premises with underground irrigation systems, and that includes single family homes.
A reduced pressure principle assembly (RP) is the standard requirement. A properly installed atmospheric or pressure vacuum breaker may be used instead with written approval from Missoula Water. If your Missoula home has an in-ground sprinkler system, you likely have a testable assembly that needs a yearly test.
Missoula Water also requires backflow protection for fire sprinkler systems with a fire department connection or antifreeze, and for buildings with boilers, cooling towers, heat exchangers, or water treatment equipment where chemicals are or can be used.
Properties with booster pumps, more than one water service, or an auxiliary water supply connected to the system need an RP assembly on each water service. Every one of these assemblies needs an annual test.
Outside the City of Missoula, requirements depend on who supplies your water. Each public water system in Missoula, Ravalli, Lake, Mineral, and Granite counties handles cross-connection control its own way, so the rules in Hamilton or Polson may not match Missoula’s.
Homes on private wells are generally outside utility testing programs. Even so, an irrigation system that injects fertilizer or a boiler that uses treatment chemicals can still contaminate your own drinking water without a working backflow device. We can help you sort out what your water provider requires.
We start by locating your assembly and confirming its type: RP, double check valve assembly (DCVA), pressure vacuum breaker (PVB), or spill-resistant vacuum breaker. We record the make, model, size, and serial number your water provider needs.
We also check the installation itself. For example, Montana DEQ guidance says a PVB must sit at least 12 inches above all downstream piping and outlets, and an RP must never be installed underground or in a pit.
Using calibrated test gauges, we check each check valve, relief valve, or air inlet valve against its required pressure readings. Water to the protected system is shut off briefly while the test runs.
This is the only way to confirm a device is actually working. A backflow preventer can look fine from the outside while a fouled check valve or worn seal lets water pass the wrong way.
Missoula Water requires a test report each time an assembly is tested, relocated, or repaired, and any repaired assembly has to be retested right away.
If your device fails, we explain what failed and why, then repair or replace it and retest so you leave with a passing result. You get a completed test form for your records and your water provider.
The right device depends on the hazard. An RP protects against both pollutants and health hazards and is the go-to for high-risk connections. A DCVA is suited to lower-risk, non-health hazards.
A PVB handles both hazard types, but only under backsiphonage. Montana DEQ does not recommend it where backpressure can occur. Installing the wrong device can leave you out of compliance and your water unprotected.
Irrigation backflow devices usually sit outdoors, and water left inside them can freeze and crack the body or damage internal parts during a Montana winter.
Drain your device when your sprinkler system is blown out in the fall. In spring, open it back up slowly and schedule your annual test once the system is pressurized. A device that froze over the winter often fails its first test.
Missoula Water requires assemblies to be tested immediately after installation or relocation, not just once a year. We install, relocate, and replace backflow assemblies and test them on the spot.
Keep in mind that a normally working RP can discharge water from its relief valve from time to time. Indoor RPs should drain through an air gap, and property owners are responsible for drainage that prevents flooding during leaks and testing.
Our Missoula plumbers work within Missoula Water’s Cross-Connection/Backflow Protection Program and Montana DEQ rules. We know which assemblies are required, how they need to be installed, and what your test report has to include.
Backflow testing is only part of the job. When a device fails or was installed wrong, the same team that tested it can repair, rebuild, or replace it and retest it, so you are not coordinating multiple contractors to get back in compliance.
We provide backflow testing throughout Missoula County, including Lolo, Frenchtown, East Missoula, Bonner, Clinton, and Seeley Lake, plus Hamilton, Stevensville, Florence, and Corvallis in Ravalli County, Polson and the Lake County area, and communities in Mineral and Granite counties.
Montana DEQ rules for cross-connection control programs require backflow assemblies to be tested at least once a year. Missoula Water also requires testing immediately after installation, relocation, or repair, and may require more frequent testing when it sees a need.
Yes. Missoula Water requires backflow protection on premises with underground irrigation systems, including single family homes. An RP is the standard requirement, and a pressure or atmospheric vacuum breaker may be allowed with written approval.
Testing must be done by a certified backflow prevention assembly tester. Missoula Water accepts a current certificate from a state certification program or from the American Society of Sanitary Engineering, American Backflow Prevention Association, Foundation for Cross-Connection Control, or American Water Works Association.
The assembly needs to be repaired or replaced, then retested right away. A new test report goes to your water provider showing the device now passes.
An RP can discharge a small amount of water from its relief valve now and then, and that is normal. Steady or heavy discharge usually points to a fouled check valve, debris, or a pressure problem, and the assembly should be tested.
Backsiphonage happens when pressure in the water main drops and pulls water backward out of your plumbing. Backpressure happens when pressure on your side, from a pump or boiler for example, pushes water back into the main. Some devices only protect against backsiphonage.
Utility testing programs apply to public water systems, so homes on private wells are generally not part of them. A backflow device is still worth having if your irrigation system injects fertilizer or your plumbing connects to chemicals that could reach your drinking water.
For irrigation systems, schedule your test in spring after the system is turned back on and pressurized. For fire sprinkler, boiler, and commercial assemblies, stick to the annual date your water provider has on record.
Yes. We serve Missoula County communities like Lolo, Frenchtown, East Missoula, and Seeley Lake, along with Hamilton and the Bitterroot Valley, Polson and Lake County, and parts of Mineral and Granite counties.
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