For Property Owners

If the District has determined that your property needs a backflow prevention assembly, it has to be an approved one — a model that has passed the testing standards described below. In practice, you usually won't be choosing the model yourself; your certified tester or plumber installs an approved assembly that fits your property. What matters on your end is simpler:

• Your assembly must be an approved make, model, and size (the lists below are how that's verified).
• It must be installed correctly and tested every year by a certified tester.
• If it ever fails and can't be repaired, it must be replaced with another approved assembly.

Whether your property needs an assembly at all is determined separately, through the District's hazard assessment. If you haven't completed that yet, start at Cross-Connection Hazard Assessment.

How Do I Know If My Assembly Is Approved?

You don't need to read the standards yourself. The easiest ways to confirm your assembly is approved:

• Ask your certified tester.
• When they test your assembly, they check the make, model, and size against the approved lists as a matter of course. If yours isn't approved, they'll tell you.
• Check it yourself, if you'd like.
• Find the manufacturer, model, and size stamped on your assembly, then look it up on the USC list linked below. If it appears there, it's approved.
• When in doubt, contact the District at (626) 797 - 6295 or email kid@kidwater.info and we can help you confirm.

What the Assembly Types Mean

You may see these abbreviations on your assembly or test report. In plain terms:

• RP / RPDA (Reduced Pressure) — the highest level of protection, used where a backflow could pose a health hazard.
• DC / DCDA (Double Check) — used for lower-hazard situations.
• PVB / SVB (Vacuum Breakers) — common on irrigation systems.
• AG (Air Gap) — a physical gap used where a mechanical assembly isn't suitable.

Which type your property needs depends on the level of hazard identified in your assessment — the District determines this, and your tester installs accordingly.

Installing or Replacing an Assembly

Any new or replacement assembly must be an approved model (see the lists below), installed to code by a qualified person, and tested once it's in service. Before installing or replacing an assembly, contact the District at at (626) 797 - 6295 or email kid@kidwater.info, so we can confirm the correct type of protection for your property and keep our records current.

Technical Requirements

All backflow prevention assemblies (BPAs) used for compliance with the CCCPH must meet both laboratory and field evaluation tests performed in accordance with at least one of the two following: 

(1)  Standards found in Chapter 10 of the Manual of Cross-Connection Control, Tenth Edition, published by the University of Southern California Foundation for Cross-Connection Control and Hydraulic Research.

A list of the BPAs which meet USC Standards can be found at: https://fccchr.usc.edu/list.html 

(2)  Certification requirements for backflow prevention assemblies in the Standards of American Society of Sanitary Engineering (ASSE) International current as of 2022 that include ASSE 1015-2021 for the DC, ASSE 1048-2021 for the DCDA & DCDA-II, ASSE 1013-2021 for the RP, and ASSE 1047-2021 for the RPDA & RPDA-II and must have the 1YT mark.

A list of the BPAs which meet ASSE Standards can be found at: https://forms.iapmo.org/asse/listed/