municipal utility · official record
San Antonio utility backflow testing requirements
San Antonio requires annual backflow testing and routes both customer compliance checks and registered testing company discovery through BSI under the SAWS program.
Fast answer
Who, when, and what device?
Annual testing is required by City of San Antonio ordinance and state regulations. SAWS uses BSI to manage notices, customer service inspections, and customer tracking.
- Who is affected
- Properties with connections that can contaminate the public water system and customers requiring external or internal backflow assemblies.
- Covered devices
- External backflow assemblies · Internal backflow assemblies
- Risk if missed
- SAWS monitors and enforces annual testing requirements for external assemblies, and BSI now handles due and past-due notice operations on behalf of SAWS.
What to do now
Choose the task on your notice
The official rule stays on this record; national guidance explains the task.
Exact workflow
Follow the local sequence
- 01
Use the SAWS program page to confirm whether the assembly is part of the annual testing program.
- 02
Check compliance or find a registered testing company through the BSI customer portal.
- 03
Complete testing and make sure the tester submits results through the correct BSI channel.
- 04
For new service or construction, complete the CSI and Development Services steps alongside assembly requirements.
Tester gate
Who can produce an accepted result?
Registered testing company in the SAWS BSI workflow, Licensed BPAT status, Licensed fireline tester status when testing fireline assemblies
View the official tester listSubmission route
Where the result goes
SAWS BSI customer and tester tracking workflow
Report packet: SAWS annual testing notice or compliance record, Registered testing company in BSI, Internal or external assembly context
Tester credentials: Registered testing company in the SAWS BSI workflow, Licensed BPAT status, Licensed fireline tester status when testing fireline assemblies
Look for the CCN, account number, BSI record, device ID, or assembly serial from the reminder.
Report acceptance depends on the named portal and the utility-approved tester route; keep proof that the report was submitted.
- SAWS backflow prevention program program page
- BSI customer portal customer portal
- BSI submission portal submission portal
Local detail
Property, device, and enforcement notes
Open the parts that match the property and system. These details stay subordinate to the fast workflow above.
Program and failure notes
- Annual testing is enforced under both local ordinance and state regulations.
- SAWS separates customer-side and public-system-side assembly oversight, so scope matters.
- New construction and CSI workflows can add extra sequencing beyond the recurring annual test.
- Annual testing is the default rule for SAWS backflow assemblies.
- BSI handles due and past-due notices for SAWS.
- A failed annual test form counts as delinquent until the assembly passes.
Residential notes
- Residential users most often see SAWS through annual notices for irrigation, fire sprinkler, septic, well, or alternative-water conditions.
- SAWS is not a one-size-fits-all page because internal and external assemblies can sit on different compliance tracks.
Commercial notes
- Commercial owners should expect SAWS customer service inspection and development workflows to overlap with annual testing when hazard conditions change.
- The public materials are clearer on BSI workflow and notice handling than on retail tester pricing.
Irrigation
SAWS irrigation compliance is broader than a single annual test reminder. Irrigation systems need the right assembly, and large landscapes can also fall into the separate annual irrigation checkup program.
- SAWS requires backflow protection on irrigation systems based on the hazard presented.
- Single-family irrigation tied to septic systems, private wells, or other alternate sources often sits in the annual notice stream.
- Large landscapes over five acres or very high annual water use may also need an annual irrigation checkup by May 1.
Fire line
SAWS fire line work is stricter than a normal domestic test. Fireline assemblies must be tested by a licensed fireline tester, and some right-of-way installations stay under SAWS operational control.
- A licensed fireline tester is required for fireline assembly testing.
- Assemblies located in the public right-of-way may stay under SAWS inspection and maintenance rules.
- Fireline failures do not pause the delinquency clock; the annual record is still unresolved until the assembly passes.
Cost and fee context
Private San Antonio market quotes vary by assembly type and scope.
Repair and retest costs depend on whether the issue is on an external or internal assembly and whether permitting is implicated.
Use the SAWS program for compliance path and BSI for tester discovery rather than assuming one standard retail price.
Evidence ledger
Official sources
SAWS requires annual testing under city ordinance and state regulations and directs customers to BSI to find registered testing companies and check compliance.
BackflowVerdict summarizes these records; the governing entity remains the authority.
Open official program page- 01SAWS cross-connection control and backflow prevention programofficial program pageOpen source ↗
- 02SAWS annual testing of backflow prevention assembliesofficial program pageOpen source ↗
- 03SAWS annual irrigation checkup programofficial program pageOpen source ↗
- 04BSI customer portalofficial portalOpen source ↗
Commercial handoff · separate layer
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