Backflow testing software that keeps the due dates and the purveyor's form straight
Backflow prevention testing is the periodic field test of an installed backflow prevention assembly, confirming it still stops water flowing back from a customer's premises into the public drinking water system. There are over 148,000 public water systems in the United States, each running its own cross connection control program with its own form and deadline. Neurobird holds the assemblies, calculates the due dates and produces the report each purveyor accepts.
Neurobird Backflow Prevention Testing in short
- Hold every assembly with its make, size, hazard class, location and last test result
- Calculate the next due date from the test itself, not from a spreadsheet row copied forward
- Produce the test report each water purveyor accepts, without retyping it into their form
- 148,000 Public water systems in the United States, each responsible for its own cross connection control program and its own test reporting. US EPA, information about public water systems
- 90 percent Share of Americans served by the public drinking water systems regulated by EPA and delegated states and tribes. US EPA, information about public water systems
- Pricing runs 45 to 190 US dollars per month across 3 tiers. Early access is free.
What backflow testers and cross connection control programs actually deal with
Why it stays broken
The rule is local. The Safe Drinking Water Act sets the frame, then more than 148,000 public water systems each run their own program. So a tester working 4 jurisdictions carries 4 due date rules and 4 report formats in their head.
A tester covering 900 assemblies a year spends more hours on forms than on gauges.
A method of backflow prevention which requires a backflow prevention preventer at the water service entrance.
How does Neurobird Backflow Prevention Testing work?
Build the assembly list
Make, model, size, hazard class, location and shutoff detail are recorded once, so the assembly outlives the customer's staff turnover.
Test and record in the field
Gauge readings, pass or fail, repairs and the tester's certification number are captured at the assembly rather than typed up that evening.
Report to the purveyor
The report is produced in the format the purveyor accepts and marked as submitted, so a missing report is visible before the deadline.
Neurobird Backflow Prevention Testing Compliance Platform
Hold the assembly, not the appointment. The due date comes off the last test and the report goes out in the purveyor's own format.
- 1Hold every assembly with its make, size, hazard class, location and last test result
- 2Calculate the next due date from the test itself, not from a spreadsheet row copied forward
- 3Produce the test report each water purveyor accepts, without retyping it into their form
- 4Track gauge calibration and tester certification alongside the assemblies they sign off
What changes with Neurobird Backflow Prevention Testing?
The same work, read left to right: how it runs today, and how it runs once the record is in one place.
| Today | With Neurobird Backflow Prevention Testing |
|---|---|
| The test takes 20 minutes and the paperwork is the job: a report to the customer, a report to the water purveyor, and a copy you can still find in 2 years | Hold every assembly with its make, size, hazard class, location and last test result |
| Every purveyor wants its own form, its own submission route and its own deadline, and you work in 5 of them | Calculate the next due date from the test itself, not from a spreadsheet row copied forward |
| Due dates come off last year's list, so an assembly that changed hands quietly stops being tested at all | Produce the test report each water purveyor accepts, without retyping it into their form |
Who is this for?
Same test, three different operating models.
You test alone
Your route and your renewals are the business. You need next year's due list to build itself out of this year's tests.
Testing is part of the work
Backflow is 1 line of your service mix and the compliance tail is long. You need the reporting to run without a dedicated person.
You police the assemblies
You chase customers rather than schedule them. You need to see which assemblies are overdue and which reports never arrived.
How backflow testing is actually required
Useful if you are entering the trade or running a program. Each source links out.
Public water systems in the United States, each responsible for its own cross connection control program and its own test reporting.
US EPA, information about public water systemsShare of Americans served by the public drinking water systems regulated by EPA and delegated states and tribes.
US EPA, information about public water systemsMinimum differential below inlet pressure a reduced pressure principle assembly must hold, which is exactly what the field test verifies.
US EPA cross connection control manualCompliance window the EPA model ordinance allows to repair or replace an assembly that fails a periodic test, outside high hazard situations.
US EPA cross connection control manualThe part of 40 CFR carrying the national primary drinking water regulations that state cross connection programs implement.
40 CFR Part 141, eCFRThe assembly list, as a tester would work it
A working preview. Tick an assembly to move it into this month's route.
| Requirement | Status | Next due | |
|---|---|---|---|
| DC assembly, 6 inch fire line | current | in 42d | |
| PVB, rooftop boiler makeup | due soon | in 9d | |
| Failed relief valve, repair scheduled | current | in 120d | |
| Test gauge 8842, calibration due | overdue | 3d late | |
| RP assembly, 2 inch, irrigation, due | current | in 64d |
Tick a requirement to file evidence against it.
Backflow prevention testing software questions, answered
Key terms
- What is backflow prevention testing?
- Backflow prevention testing is the periodic field test of an installed backflow prevention assembly to confirm it still stops water flowing back from a customer's premises into the public drinking water system. A certified tester uses a calibrated differential gauge and reports the result to the water purveyor.
- What is the difference between an assembly and a device?
- A testable assembly, such as a reduced pressure principle assembly or a double check, has shutoffs and test cocks so it can be verified in place. A non testable device cannot be, which is why fixture isolation with a non testable device usually needs neither a permit nor a periodic test.
How often does an assembly have to be tested?
That is set locally, not federally. Most water purveyors require an annual test, and the EPA cross connection control manual's model ordinance calls for reduced pressure principle assemblies to be tested and inspected at least semi annually. Programs also test more often where there is a history of failures.
Who actually requires the test?
The water purveyor, under state drinking water rules that implement the Safe Drinking Water Act. There are over 148,000 public water systems in the United States and each runs its own cross connection control program, which is why the form and the deadline change when you cross a service boundary.
Does this file the report with the purveyor?
It produces the report in the format the purveyor accepts and records that it went out. Submission routes vary from a portal to a fax to an email, so routing stays configurable rather than assumed.
Why we are building this
Backflow testing is a public health control that ends in a form. The physics are settled, the assemblies are standardised, and the failure mode is administrative: an assembly nobody listed, a report that never reached the purveyor.
Because the rules are set by more than 148,000 individual water systems, the trade absorbs that variation by hand. That is why testers keep a spreadsheet per jurisdiction rather than one list of assemblies.
We would rather build this with testers and program coordinators than guess. Tell us how yours runs, and where we have got it wrong.
Where the requirement comes from
The federal frame and the state programs that actually set the rules.
- US EPA cross connection control manual The reference manual: assembly types, degrees of hazard, the model ordinance and its periodic testing provisions.
- US EPA, information about public water systems How a public water system is defined and how many there are, which is why the rules are local.
- 40 CFR Part 141, primary drinking water regulations The federal regulations that state drinking water programs implement and enforce.
- Washington State Department of Health, cross connection control A state program page showing what a purveyor has to run and what testers submit.
How much does Neurobird Backflow Prevention Testing cost?
Priced per tester because the certification sits with a person. Assemblies are unlimited on every tier.
- Assembly records
- Due date calculation
- Field test capture
- Purveyor report formats
- Email support
- Everything in Solo tester
- Route scheduling
- Gauge calibration tracking
- Customer renewal notices
- Named contact
- Everything in Testing company
- Multi purveyor rule sets
- Hazard survey records
- Program level reporting
- Onboarding included
Get free early access
If you test backflow assemblies, tell us how many purveyors you report to and what each of them wants.
Straight answer on where this is: In development. Early access gets the working preview, a say in what ships first, and early access pricing. It does not get you a login today.
Prefer email? Write to office@neurobird.com and a person will reply. No autoresponder.