Plumbers in Ocotillo

When was your backflow preventer last tested? In Ocotillo, a lot of owners would have to go find it first. The lake community in south Chandler was built in the 1990s and 2000s with generous landscaping, golf, and irrigation systems tied into the potable supply, and each of those connections needs a device to keep yard water from flowing backward into the drinking water.

A backflow assembly is a set of check valves and test ports, usually a brass fixture near the front of the lot. Heat and hard water wear on its seals and springs, and a failed one can let fertilizer, pool chemicals, or stagnant irrigation water siphon back into the lines. The assemblies are supposed to be certified every year. Many here are overdue simply because the reminder went to a previous owner.

A backflow test is quick, and if the assembly fails, it can be rebuilt or replaced on the same visit. While we’re there, it’s worth a look at the pool plumbing if you have a pool, since auto-fill lines are a common and well-hidden source of lost water. Supply pipe in Ocotillo homes is copper or PEX and usually in good shape, so a creeping water bill is more often the yard or the pool than the house. If it isn’t, leak detection will find where it’s going.