Why this page exists
Support the local pages without blurring the official rule
Use this page for orientation only. The local utility still determines which assembly fits the hazard class and workflow.
Evergreen guide
RPZ vs DCVA vs PVB
This page is not a substitute for utility approval or plan review. It helps you read the local page with less confusion when you see assembly acronyms.
Last reviewed: 2026-04-04
Reviewer: TL
Freshness window: 120 days
RPZ assemblies show up where health hazard is high
Reduced pressure zone assemblies are common where the utility wants stronger protection against contamination and a visible relief mechanism.
- You will often see RPZ or RPZA language on higher-hazard commercial sites.
- Access, drainage, and inspection conditions can matter more than owners expect.
DCVA and PVB are not interchangeable in every local workflow
Double check valve assemblies and pressure vacuum breakers often appear in lower-hazard or irrigation settings, but the actual allowed configuration is still a utility question.
- Some utilities call out DCVA or RPZ by hazard class.
- Irrigation-specific rules and fireline rules can follow separate review paths.
Use this guide with local utility pages
City of Avondale Backflow and Cross-Connection Control
Avondale is a strong utility-first page because the city pairs annual testing, approved testers, and specific approved device classes in one public workflow.
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City of Anaheim Cross Connection Control
Anaheim is a strong Southern California utility because it publishes annual testing rules, approved-list gating, online submission, and utility specifications for irrigation and proposed fireline work.
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Aurora Water Backflow Prevention
Aurora Water is a strong supporting Colorado utility because it publishes a clean annual-testing rule, online submission requirement, and ownership-responsibility language.
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Broward County Water and Wastewater Services Backflow Certification
Broward County is a high-value Florida utility because it publishes due-date notices, filing-fee handling, and separate tester qualification rules for domestic, irrigation, and fire-service assemblies.
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Arlington Water Utilities
Arlington is a code-driven city: annual testing is tied to health-hazard assemblies, but installation, moves, repairs, replacement, irrigation permits, and fire line work all have separate ordinance triggers.
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City of Buckeye Environmental Compliance and Backflow Program
Buckeye is a useful Arizona utility because it publishes annual due notices, clear required assembly classes, and direct owner responsibility for annual testing.
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Metro clusters where this guide matters
Dallas-Fort Worth backflow testing
Utility-first support page for the Dallas-Fort Worth cluster. Use it to compare nearby authorities, then drop into the exact utility rule page before acting.
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Front Range backflow testing
Front Range support page for Colorado utility routes where fire-line, irrigation, date-specific testing, and third-party reporting workflows vary by city.
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Phoenix metro backflow testing
Phoenix-area support page for the East Valley and West Valley utility cluster where approved-list and fire-line rules vary by city.
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South Florida backflow testing
South Florida support page for county and city utility backflow routes across Miami-Dade, Broward, Jupiter, and Palm Beach.
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Keep the state layer in view
What this guide carries forward
RPZ, DCVA, and PVB assemblies signal different hazard and installation assumptions, but the governing utility still decides which assembly is allowed in the local workflow.
Related guides
Support pages that belong in the same reading path
How we verify local backflow rules
What counts as an official source, how local utility pages override generic assumptions, and why stale pages are suppressed.
Failed backflow test next steps
What a failed backflow test usually means, how repair and retest sequencing works, and where owners lose time.
Approved testers vs find a tester
Why official tester lists and commercial directories must stay separate, and what each page type is allowed to claim.
Backflow test cost
How to think about annual testing, repair, and retest pricing without confusing a market quote with the compliance rule.
Source trail
Source trail
EPA cross-connection control manual
RPZ, DCVA, and PVB assemblies signal different hazard and installation assumptions, but the governing utility still decides which assembly is allowed in the local workflow.
federal guidance
Fort Worth backflow hazard and assembly examples
RPZ, DCVA, and PVB assemblies signal different hazard and installation assumptions, but the governing utility still decides which assembly is allowed in the local workflow.
utility example