Backflow Testing in Cary, NC

Cary is a different animal from most Triangle towns. It runs its own water utility, treats water at the Cary/Apex Water Treatment Facility drawn from Jordan Lake, and administers its own cross-connection control program — so the rules that govern your backflow assembly come straight from the Town, not a county or a regional authority. If you have an irrigation system in Preston, a booster pump in Lochmere, or a chemical-feed line at a MacGregor Downs property, the Town wants proof your device is keeping its drinking water clean.

What actually gets tested

On a typical Cary lot we’re looking at one of two assemblies: a reduced-pressure-zone (RPZ) device or a double-check valve, usually tied to lawn irrigation. We connect test gauges, run the device through its check-valve and relief-valve sequence, and confirm it holds against backflow under real pressure. If a check fails or a relief valve weeps, we’ll show you exactly what we found before any repair conversation starts.

Cary’s master-planned neighborhoods span a wide age range — MacGregor Downs going back to the late 1960s, Lochmere and Preston built out through the 1980s and 1990s, Amberly arriving in the 2000s. That puts a lot of aging irrigation gear in the ground, and on the bigger golf-community homes, multi-zone systems that need a tester who knows where the assembly is buried. We test it, document it, and file the result so the whole thing is off your plate.

Cary operates its own utility and runs the cross-connection control program for its own customers as well as Morrisville. Because the Town manages this directly, a few specifics matter. First, your test must be performed by a technician the Town of Cary has certified — not just any plumber with a gauge set. Our crew holds that certification.

Second, the Town puts the submission responsibility on the customer. Reporting deadlines are set by the Town and can change, so we confirm the current requirement, and once a Cary-certified tech signs your result, we file it for you so the deadline is never your problem.

Third, the testing cadence changed with North Carolina SB 166. Residential irrigation assemblies now run on a three-year cycle rather than yearly, but devices on booster pumps or chemical-feed lines still test annually. If you want to use your own tester or skip a year you’re eligible to skip, Cary has a process for that — another detail we’ll walk you through. The smart first step is confirming exactly which rule applies to your property, and that’s what we sort out when you call.