Backflow testing across Durham Region
One by-law, one administrator, eight municipalities. The requirement does not change from town to town. The building stock, the drive, and how we group the schedule do.
Why the rule is the same everywhere
Drinking water in Durham is treated, pumped and regulated by the Regional Municipality of Durham, not by the individual towns. When Regional Council passed By-law 24-2018, it applied to every property connected to Regional water in all eight lower-tier municipalities. Notices are sent by BSI Online on the Region's behalf, test reports go back through the same portal, and the Region issues the tag. There is no Oshawa program, Whitby program or Ajax program, whatever a search result might say. If your property is on Regional water and it is industrial, commercial, institutional or multi-residential, the annual test applies.
What does change by municipality
The by-law is uniform. The buildings are not, and neither is the geography, so the way we plan a week looks different across the Region.
| Municipality | Includes | What testing there tends to look like |
|---|---|---|
| Oshawa | Downtown, north Oshawa, Columbus, the 401 corridor | Older multi-residential and downtown commercial, the hospital and college campuses, industrial along the south end. Many devices per block, short drives. |
| Whitby | Downtown Whitby, Brooklin, the Port Whitby industrial area | Industrial parks off the 401, newer condo stock, plazas along Dundas and Taunton. Brooklin is a separate cluster. |
| Ajax | Downtown Ajax, Pickering Village, the Bayly and Harwood corridors | Commercial plazas, industrial along Bayly, mid-rise residential. Compact town, easy to batch. |
| Pickering | City centre, Bay Ridges, Brock Road industrial, rural north Pickering | Industrial and warehousing along Brock Road and the 401, the city centre commercial core, some rural properties on Regional water. |
| Clarington | Bowmanville, Courtice, Newcastle, Orono | Bowmanville downtown and industrial, Courtice commercial along Highway 2, Newcastle and Orono cores. Spread out; grouped by day. |
| Uxbridge | Uxbridge town, surrounding hamlets | Small commercial core, institutional and agricultural-service properties. Batched with Scugog and Brock. |
| Scugog | Port Perry, Blackstock, Caesarea, Seagrave | Port Perry commercial and institutional, lakeside properties, agricultural service. Batched with Uxbridge and Brock. |
| Brock | Beaverton, Cannington, Sunderland | Three small cores, institutional buildings, farm-service commercial. Longest drive; scheduled in grouped days. |
Sub-communities are covered on the municipality page
Courtice, Bowmanville, Newcastle, Brooklin, Port Perry, Beaverton and the rest are sections within their municipality's page rather than separate pages, because the rule, the notice, and the filing are identical. If a search brought you here looking for one of those names, the municipality page has it.
How scheduling works across the Region
- Lakeshore towns (Pickering to Clarington): dense enough that a single day can cover several buildings. Early morning and after-hours slots are easy to fit.
- North Durham (Uxbridge, Scugog, Brock): grouped into dedicated days so the drive is shared across properties. If your due date is flexible by a week or two, say so and we fold you into the next northern run.
- Portfolios: a property manager with buildings in three towns sends one list; we return one schedule and one set of reports.
- Irrigation season: spring start-up runs are planned by area so PVB tests happen the week the systems come on.
Water context worth knowing
Regional water in Durham comes from three kinds of source, all operated by the Region: Lake Ontario plants at Ajax, Whitby, Oshawa, Bowmanville and Newcastle serving the lakeshore municipalities; a Lake Simcoe plant at Beaverton; and groundwater wells serving Uxbridge, Port Perry, Cannington, Sunderland, Blackstock, Greenbank and Orono (see the Region's About Water page). All of it is Regional supply and all of it falls under the by-law. Properties on private wells only are outside the program. Properties with a well and a Regional connection are inside it, and the well counts as an auxiliary supply, which usually means an RPZ on the Regional service.
Pick your municipality
- OshawaDowntown Oshawa, South Oshawa and the 401 corridor, North Oshawa and Windfields
- WhitbyDowntown Whitby, Brooklin, Port Whitby and the 401 employment lands
- AjaxDowntown Ajax and Harwood Avenue, Pickering Village, The Bayly Street and Salem Road employment area
- PickeringPickering City Centre, Bay Ridges and Frenchman's Bay, Brock Road and Bayly Street industrial
- ClaringtonBowmanville, Courtice, Newcastle
- UxbridgeUxbridge town centre, Uxville and the industrial area, Goodwood, Zephyr, Leaskdale, Sandford and the hamlets
- ScugogPort Perry, Blackstock, Greenbank
- BrockBeaverton, Cannington, Sunderland
Service area questions
Does Durham Region's backflow by-law apply in every municipality?
Yes. Water supply in Durham is a Regional service, and By-law 24-2018 was passed by Regional Council. It applies to industrial, commercial, institutional and multi-residential properties in Oshawa, Whitby, Ajax, Pickering, Clarington, Uxbridge, Scugog and Brock alike. The lower-tier municipalities do not run their own programs.
Do you charge more for the north Durham townships?
We quote per property, and distance is one input. What keeps north Durham pricing sensible is batching: we schedule Uxbridge, Scugog and Brock visits on the same days so the drive is shared. If you manage several properties up there, or your neighbours need testing too, tell us and we group them.
My property is on a private well. Does the program apply?
The by-law protects the municipal drinking water system, so it applies to properties connected to Regional water. A property served only by a private well is generally outside the program. Properties with both a well and a municipal connection are inside it, and the well is treated as an auxiliary supply, which raises the hazard classification.
Is there a list of registered testers for Durham?
Yes. The Region publishes an authorized tester registry through BSI Online, and the Region's program page links to it. Any tester on that list can test and file in any Durham municipality.
Anywhere in Durham, one request
Send the address or the list of addresses. We quote per device, group the route, and file every report with BSI Online.