WHAT IS A BACKFLOW PREVENTION ASSEMBLY
If you have a sprinkler system at home, you likely have a backflow preventer. Being that irrigation systems are often buried and exposed to outdoor elements, it is possible for contaminants such as chemicals or waste to find their way into the irrigation lines.
You may have pets that access your lawn to do their business. Or maybe you use fertilizer, pesticides or weed killer. Rain can wash all of these contaminants into the soil. And in the case where negative pressure pulls liquids back into your irrigation lines, you now all of a sudden have contaminated liquid traveling back toward your potable water supply. The backflow preventer is designed to stop this. They are installed between your fresh water supply and the main irrigation line, effectively keeping the two lines separate.
WHY SHOULD I HAVE MY BACKFLOW ASSEMBLY TESTED DURING A HOME INSPECTION
There are two main reasons to have the assembly tested during the home inspection, the first and most important is that they break! A broken check valve or faulty close off in your assembly can put your homes and the entire neighborhoods water supply in jeapardy of being contaminated. A repair on this device can range from $150-$1300 so knowing about a potential issue makes sense as a potential buyer. The second reason is that the state of Oregon requires a test for this assembly every year, that is how important they are! So you are checking two boxes with this test, one is knowing if there is an issue up front before the home purchase, the second is taking care of the required test now and for free* (we offer this as a free service for our home inspections, provided the new home buyer agrees to use us for the next two years for thier annual state required tests) If you would like the test but don't want to sign up for our annual service the test is still an affordable $75.