Backflow Prevention

Your irrigation system draws from the same line that supplies the house. A backflow prevention assembly is what keeps those two from mixing.

When pressure drops in the main — a hydrant opens, a line breaks, a pump shuts off — water can be pulled backward through the system. What comes back is whatever was sitting in the irrigation lines: fertilizer, ditch water, standing water in a valve box, and whatever has soaked into the ground around a cracked lateral. The assembly is the one component standing between that and the tap.

There are several types, and the one on your property was chosen for a reason — the hazard level, the water pressure, whether the device sits under continuous pressure, and what your water provider requires. The type also determines how it has to be tested and what it can be replaced with. The six below are the ones we see on the Western Slope.

Most water providers require these assemblies to be tested every year, and most will only accept a test from a certified tester. We are certified by the American Backflow Prevention Association to perform that test, and we file the paperwork with your provider.

An assembly also has to be drained before the first hard freeze. Most of these devices sit above ground with water standing in a brass body, and water expands when it freezes — the body splits, and a replacement costs several times what the blowout does. If your system has not been winterized yet this fall, we can take care of that at the same time.

Schedule a backflow test or call 970-835-9661

Device Types