Backflow Testing in Forest Park, GA

How backflow works in Forest Park

Forest Park is an older inner-ring suburb just south of I-285, and it gets water, sewer and stormwater service from the Clayton County Water Authority, which serves the whole county and its six cities. CCWA handles backflow differently from most metro utilities. It installs backflow devices at all customer connections, and its own state-certified backflow specialists test each one every year, scheduled around meter-reading cycles. They repair the devices too. Non-residential accounts pay a monthly per-connection fee for that testing and repair.

For a homeowner, that means no annual test to book and no report to file. Where a plumber comes in is the plumbing around it. CCWA's service line runs from the main to the meter; the line from the meter to the house is the customer's. Leaks on that line, a damaged fitting after the device, or new plumbing that changes what the connection protects are owner jobs.

Forest Park has the oldest housing in this part of Clayton, with a median build year of 1965 and close to 78% of homes built before 1980. Galvanized or worn supply lines past the meter are common, and they're often what fails near the device.

CCWA's job vs. yours

Signs to call

• Wet ground or a hiss between the meter and the house
• Low pressure after work at the meter
• Old galvanized pipe leaking near the connection
• Plans for sprinklers or a new fixture outside

Timing notes

If a CCWA crew has just serviced the device and you notice a leak on the house side, call soon so it doesn't undermine the yard. New plumbing needs a Forest Park permit, filed through the city's OpenGov portal, and the city schedules inspections by email. When you call, explain whether the problem is at the device itself or on the pipe running to the house, so the plumber can tell you whether it is something CCWA should handle first.