Backflow Testing in Griffin, GA

Signs you need backflow help

• A letter from the city about cross-connections or a device on your service
• Water leaking from a brass assembly near the meter or a sprinkler tap
• A sprinkler system, pool fill or livestock line tied into city water with nothing protecting it
• A business space being converted to a restaurant or shop downtown
• An outdoor device that went through a hard freeze full of water

Backflow and Griffin's water system

Griffin is the Spalding County seat and an old railroad town at the south edge of the metro. The city runs two drinking water treatment facilities and two reservoirs, plus the pipe network that delivers water to homes and businesses. Whether the city serves every address in the 30223 and 30224 ZIPs, or Spalding County serves some of them, hasn't been verified, so look at your bill.

Our research didn't find published backflow requirements for City of Griffin water customers. That means we can't tell you how often a device must be tested or whose test results the city accepts, and we won't guess. What we can say is that irrigation, pools and commercial uses are the connections utilities most often want protected. If you have one, call Griffin Water & Wastewater and ask.

Griffin's housing is among the oldest in the region, with a median build year of 1976 and more than half of homes built before 1980. Houses in and around the historic commercial district were rarely built with any backflow protection, so any device you find was likely added later. The city's locators mark water lines only on the city side of the meter, which hints at the split: the pipe and fixtures past the meter are generally the owner's to look after.

Inside city limits, plumbing work needs a trade permit pulled by a contractor holding a state license, through the Planning & Development permits office at 100 S. Hill Street.

What affects the cost

• Checking or testing an existing device versus installing a new one
• The type of protection the connection calls for
• Rebuild parts or a full replacement
• Older plumbing that needs work to fit a device
• Trade permit and inspection steps

What happens when you call

You'll be connected with an independent plumber who serves Griffin. Describe the connection and the device, and share any letter from the city. If something is leaking, close the valve feeding that line and leave the rest of the house on.