Backflow preventer testing in Anne Arundel County, Maryland.

Anne Arundel County spells its rule out more plainly than any other Maryland utility. The county Department of Public Works page titled Backflow Prevention & Cross Connection says homeowners must install an approved backflow preventer on point of use water lines where it is deemed necessary, and names the two residential cases outright: residential fire suppression systems and lawn irrigation systems. It then sets the schedule in one line, have the backflow assembly tested after installation, then annually, and immediately following repairs. For a sprinklered house in Crofton, Severna Park or Pasadena on county water, that is the whole requirement: a device, a yearly test, and a filed report.

The filing is where the county is specific. A State-certified backflow tester performs the test and returns copies of the test report to Anne Arundel County DPW within 30 days of a passing test. A failed test has to be reported within 72 hours. Repairs are to be made by a county licensed and certified plumber, and the page is clear that proper maintenance and replacement of a faulty assembly is the homeowner’s responsibility, not the county’s. The county publishes a voluntary list, Certified Plumbing Companies Providing Backflow Related Services, of firms it has verified as licensed and certified under Maryland rules and that enter results through its online system. It also publishes what those firms charge: the page gives an average of $100 to $180 for backflow related services, with a note that some companies charge more.

Where the device sits tells you which rule you are under. The county page says a fire suppression preventer is typically in the basement or utility room, on the sprinkler branch near where the service enters, and an irrigation preventer is typically on the outside of the home. A testable double check has test cocks; if your sprinkler feed has a plain dual check with no ports, there is nothing to test, and we say so rather than charge for a visit. Homes inside the City of Annapolis are on the city’s own water system and should check with the city rather than county DPW; the Anne Arundel County page covers the two permit tracks for sprinkler work.

Pricing for every configuration is published on our cost guide, well-fed systems are covered on the well-water page, and the county overview lives on the Anne Arundel County page.

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