Backflow testing for homes, stratas and commercial properties, with the test report filed the way your municipality asks, by a certified tester who is also your plumber.
Prosafe tests backflow prevention assemblies across the North Shore and Metro Vancouver. Reza is a BCWWA-certified backflow assembly tester, and we file the test report for you, the way your municipality asks: BSI Online in Vancouver, the City or District form everywhere else. If a device fails, we repair or replace it, quoted separately from the test, and test it again.
Backflow is water flowing the wrong way, from a sprinkler system, a boiler, a pool or a hose, back into the drinking water supply. It happens when pressure drops in the street main or rises inside a building. A backflow preventer stops it, and because its valves can wear or stick, the testable kinds are tested to prove they still close.
The plumbing code requires connections to the drinking water system to be installed so that non-drinkable water cannot get in, and backflow preventers to be chosen and installed to CSA B64.10 (National Plumbing Code 2020, the BC Plumbing Code 2024, Div. B 2.6.2).
The tag on the device gives its make, model and size. These are the testable assemblies you will find in homes, stratas and businesses.
Two independent check valves with shut-offs and test cocks. It has no relief port, so it is used for lower-risk connections, such as many irrigation systems without added chemicals.
Two check valves with a relief valve between them that opens and discharges water if the second check fails. Used for severe hazards, and the device the plumbing code names for premise isolation where backflow could cause a severe health hazard.
A spring-loaded check valve and an air inlet that stop water being siphoned back. Testable, but protects against back-siphonage only, not back pressure.
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Every municipality runs its own program. Plain-language summaries, each with its official source. Always check the current version for your property.
| Municipality | Who must test | How often | Where the report goes | Deadline and city fee |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| City of North Vancouver | Backflow assemblies on water serving docks, piers and underground sprinklers, and other systems the City requires. | Before the water is turned on, then every July after the year of installation. | The tester’s certificate goes to the City. | In July each year. Source: Water Utility Bylaw 6417, s. 603 and Schedule G |
| District of North Vancouver | Backflow assemblies installed under a plumbing permit. | A test report before the permit’s final inspection. | The District’s building department, on its test report form. | Before the final inspection. Source: plumbing permits · test report form |
| West Vancouver | Lawn sprinkler backflow preventers need a permit and an inspection. | An inspection after installation, under the permit. | The District publishes a test form, emailed to its permits office. | Set by the permit. Source: Building Bylaw 5340 · mechanical permits |
| Vancouver | The owner or operator of any required device, for example pools, hose bibbs, underground irrigation, commercial boilers and commercial food equipment. | On installation, every year after, after any cleaning, repair or change, and when the City asks. | BSI Online, filed by the certified tester. | Within 15 days of each test. There is a $30 fee to file each report with BSI. Source: City of Vancouver, protecting water quality |
| Burnaby | Every backflow preventer, residential and commercial. | On installation, after any repair or relocation, and every year by the anniversary of its last test. | The City’s cross connection control office, on the City’s test report form. | The City’s form asks for it within 10 days of the test. The City also bills an annual charge per device ($56.05 in 2026 if paid by March 15). Source: Plumbing Bylaw 11148, s. 13 · test form · 2026 charges |
| Coquitlam | Every cross connection must be protected by an approved backflow preventer; installing one needs a plumbing permit. | On installation, under the plumbing permit. | Emailed to the City’s plumbing permits office. | The City’s form asks for it within 10 days of the test. Source: Building Bylaw 3598, Art. 49.3 · permit FAQ · plumbing permits · test form |
| Port Coquitlam | All backflow prevention devices. | Every year, counted from the device’s final inspection. | On the City’s test form, bought from the City. | Yearly. The form costs $30 per device (2026). Source: Building and Plumbing Bylaw 3710, s. 25 · 2026 fees |
| Port Moody | Premise isolation devices at industrial, commercial and institutional properties and select multi-residential buildings. | On installation or repair, then every year. | BSI Online. Paper forms are no longer accepted for registered devices. Testers need a City of Port Moody business licence. | Within 30 days of each test. A $35.72 report fee (2026). Source: cross connection control program · 2026 fees |
Send us the address, a photo of the device tag (make, model, size, serial number) and the City’s letter if you have one.
The water to that device is shut off only while the test runs. A test kit goes on the test cocks and each check valve, and the relief valve on an RP, is checked against the standard test procedure.
We fill in the test report and file it the way your municipality asks: BSI Online in Vancouver, the City or District form elsewhere. Port Moody asks testers for a City business licence, which we take out once a Port Moody test is booked.
We explain what failed and why, and repair or replace it, quoted separately from the test. Then we test the device again.
BCWWA is the recognized body for the certification of backflow assembly testers in BC, with over 2,000 certified testers. Certification takes a course and a written and practical exam, and testers pass a recertification exam every five years. Reza holds a BCWWA backflow assembly tester certificate.
Sources: BCWWA cross connection control; certification; renewingThe plumbing code requires a hose bibb outside, in a garage or wherever there is a risk of contamination to be protected against backflow, and where a severe health hazard is possible, the whole building’s supply to be isolated by a reduced pressure assembly.
Source: National Plumbing Code 2020, Div. B 2.6.2.6 and 2.6.2.7Each device is priced by its size, and one call-out is added per property visit, whatever the number of devices. Municipal filing fees, where your city charges one, are passed on at cost, with proof and no markup. Repairs and replacements of a failed device are quoted separately.
Test and report submission. Filing is included; municipal filing fees are passed on at cost with proof, no markup. One $99 call-out per property visit is added.
Test and report submission. Filing is included; municipal filing fees are passed on at cost with proof, no markup. One $99 call-out per property visit is added.
Test and report submission. Filing is included; municipal filing fees are passed on at cost with proof, no markup. One $99 call-out per property visit is added.
Backflow testing prices are the same for homes, businesses and strata properties, by device size and number of devices. Testing adds one $99 call-out per property visit, whatever the number of devices. With mixed sizes, the largest device is charged at its first-device price and each other device at its own additional price. Example: one 1-inch and one 3/4-inch device = $150 + $100 + $99 = $349 + GST. Backflow repairs, replacements and unusual access are quoted separately. Valve prices include the call-out; sizes above 1 inch need a $99 assessment, credited to the job, and a custom quote. An expansion tank, where needed, is priced separately.
Prices in CAD, plus GST. See all our prices
It depends on the size of each device, and one call-out is added per property visit, whatever the number of devices, so testing several devices on one visit costs less per device. A test with the report filed starts at $125 per device, plus one call-out per property visit, whatever the number of devices. Municipal filing fees, where your city charges one, are passed on at cost.
It depends on your municipality and the device. Vancouver, Burnaby and Port Coquitlam require a test every year; the City of North Vancouver requires its listed assemblies to be tested every July; Port Moody requires a yearly test of premise isolation devices at commercial, industrial, institutional and select multi-residential properties. The District of North Vancouver and Coquitlam ask for a test report when a device is installed under a permit, West Vancouver requires a permit and an inspection for lawn sprinkler backflow preventers, and some municipalities can ask for a test at any time. The table on this page sets out each rule with its source.
We do. In Vancouver reports go through BSI Online. In Port Moody they also go through BSI Online, once we hold the City business licence it requires of testers; Burnaby, Coquitlam, the District of North Vancouver and West Vancouver use their own test report forms; Port Coquitlam sells its own test form; and in the City of North Vancouver the tester’s certificate goes to the City.
Yes. Reza is a BCWWA-certified backflow assembly tester. The BC Water and Waste Association runs the certification that municipalities across BC recognize, with a course, a written and practical exam, and a recertification exam every five years.
Send us a photo of the letter and of the device tag, and we book the test before the date in the letter and file the report for you. If the device fails, we repair or replace it, quoted separately from the test, and test it again afterwards.
Some do. Underground irrigation systems, and in some cities hose bibbs, pools or other connections, need one, and the plumbing code requires outdoor hose bibbs to be protected against backflow. Whether yours must be tested every year depends on your municipality, as the table on this page shows.
Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. We are closed on weekends and statutory holidays. You can send us a request through the website or WhatsApp at any time, and we reply during business hours.
Send us the device tag and the City’s letter if you have one. We reply Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Who does the work: about Prosafe Plumbing & Mechanical.
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