About Backflow Tester
A dedicated backflow testing service for Durham Region: not a plumbing sideline, not a franchise. One person who read the by-law, set up the process, and answers the phone.
Why this exists
Every industrial, commercial, institutional and multi-residential property in Durham Region has to have its backflow preventer tested once a year and the report filed with the Region. In practice the notice lands on a manager's desk, gets forwarded to whichever contractor last did work in the building, and one of three things happens: the test is done late, the report never reaches BSI Online, or nobody writes down the date for next year. None of that is anyone's fault. It is what happens when a compliance task is a side job for a trade that has bigger jobs on.
Backflow Tester exists to be the party for whom it is not a side job. Book it, coordinate it, test it, tag it, file it, remind you next year. Same process, same contact, every building.
Who runs it
Sam is Durham-based, and built this business around the by-law rather than around a plumbing truck. Before this, Sam spent years building systems and websites for small businesses, which is why the booking, the records, and the reminders here work like software rather than a clipboard. The plan is a specialist backflow service first, then the other annual compliance jobs the same buildings need (fire extinguisher servicing, emergency lighting testing) once the first one is running well.
Testing is performed by an OWWA-certified cross-connection control specialist registered with Durham Region’s backflow prevention program through BSI Online.
OWWA-certified. Registered with Durham Region.Scheduling in the first season is deliberately shaped: early morning slots, evening and weekend slots, and grouped days across the Region. Those hours are the ones restaurants, clinics and plants usually want anyway. If you need a mid-day slot, ask; it can usually be arranged.
How the model works, honestly
- Testing is done by an authorized tester on the Region's registry: cross-connection certified (OWWA or approved equivalent), registered annually, calibrated gauge, per By-law 24-2018 sections 8.2 to 8.6.
- Repairs, installations and surveys are plumbing functions under Appendix A of the by-law. They go to a licensed plumbing partner. We coordinate, agree the price with you first, and handle the retest and filing.
- Filing is part of the service. Reports go through BSI Online within the by-law's 28-day window, and you get confirmation when the Region has them.
- Records are kept: device details, test history, due dates. That is what makes the reminder possible and what makes year two faster than year one.
What you will not find on this site
Reviews we do not have yet, a device counter, stock photos of a smiling plumber, or a badge for a certification that is not in hand. When there are real testimonials and photos from real mechanical rooms, they will be here. Until then, the by-law citations and the process are the proof.
What we do not do
Five-year cross-connection surveys (plumbers, engineers and technologists only). Fire sprinkler line devices (Fire Code impairment; personnel approved by the Commissioner). Single-family homes (outside the by-law). Plumbing repairs ourselves. If you need any of those, we say so and point you at who does.
Where we work
All of Durham Region: Oshawa, Whitby, Ajax, Pickering, Clarington, Uxbridge, Scugog and Brock. One by-law, one program, one set of rules. The service areas page explains how scheduling is grouped across the Region.
How to reach us
Email [email protected] or use the quote form. Testing by appointment across Durham Region. Early morning, evening and weekend slots available. Enquiries answered within one business day.
About us: questions
Are you a plumbing company?
No. Backflow Tester does one thing: arranges and manages annual backflow preventer testing and the filing that goes with it. Repairs, installations and the five-year cross-connection survey are plumbing work and go to a licensed plumbing partner. Keeping the two separate is deliberate.
Are you certified and registered with Durham Region?
Yes. OWWA cross-connection control certified and registered annually with the Region through BSI Online, with calibrated test equipment on record.
Where are you based?
Durham Region. Backflow Tester is a service-area business covering all eight municipalities, not a storefront. There is no office to visit; the work happens in your mechanical room.
Who can do the five-year cross-connection survey?
Appendix A of By-law 24-2018 restricts surveys to professional engineers, certified engineering technologists and licensed master plumbers, each holding a tester's licence. We do not perform surveys; if your notice asks for one, we point you to who can.
Can I test my own device if I have staff with a licence?
Appendix A permits anyone with a tester's licence per CSA B64 to test, and in-house maintenance staff with a tester's licence may also perform repairs. The tester still has to be registered with the Region annually and file through BSI Online. Most owners find it simpler to have it done for them.
Why early morning and after-hours slots?
Because that is when a lot of buildings can actually spare the water. Restaurants before service, clinics before patients, plants between shifts, offices before staff arrive. Those slots are part of how the business is set up, not an exception.
Talk to the person who does the scheduling
Send the address and the notice if you have one. You will hear back from the same person every year.