Backflow testing in Orlando

Who has to test in Orlando

The rule depends on the utility that sends your water bill. Each line below is from that utility's own page.

• Orlando Utilities Commission: Backflow prevention devices must be tested annually, for both residential and commercial customers.
• Orange County Utilities: Commercial and industrial backflow preventers must be tested at installation and every year after; residential ones at installation and every two years, plus after any repair, relocation or replacement.
• Toho Water Authority: Following FDEP guidelines, residential assemblies are tested once every two years by a contractor working for Toho.
• City of Sanford Utilities: Every backflow device must be tested by the owner each year after its initial test.

Sources: Orlando Utilities Commission; Orange County Utilities; Toho Water Authority; City of Sanford Utilities

How each utility takes the test report

Most utilities here take the report online through a vendor portal; the tester files it. Open a utility for its own deadline, filing steps and fees.

What testing costs in Orlando

These are amounts the utility or a company published on its own page, shown as published, never averaged.

• Orlando Utilities Commission: Starting the month of installation, residential bills carry a $4 per month fee covering annual inspection and maintenance.
• Orlando Utilities Commission: When OUC performs the commercial test, it costs $48 a year for 5/8 inch through 4 inch devices and $110 a year for 6 inch and above.
• Orange County Utilities: Residential customers with a backflow preventer pay a $3 monthly maintenance fee on the utility bill, and the county does the testing for them.
• Toho Water Authority: Residential customers no longer test or maintain their own assemblies; Toho does it for a $3 monthly fee, with no extra charge for repairs or replacement.
• Affordable Backflow Testing, Winter Garden: Affordable Backflow Testing basic annual test, Winter Garden, $29.99 (2026).
• Affordable Backflow Testing, Winter Garden: Affordable Backflow Testing scheduled repair, Winter Garden, $99 (date not shown).

Sources: Orlando Utilities Commission; Orlando Utilities Commission; Orange County Utilities; Toho Water Authority; Affordable Backflow Testing, Winter Garden; Affordable Backflow Testing, Winter Garden

If the test is missed

• Orlando Utilities Commission: Failure to comply with testing requirements may result in termination of water service.
• Orange County Utilities: Failing to test or maintain a required device is grounds for water service termination under Orange County Ordinance No. 2017-16, and the county may test or replace it at the customer's cost.

Sources: Orlando Utilities Commission; Orange County Utilities

Florida rules behind the local programs

State rules set the minimum; the utilities above add their own deadlines and tester registration.

• The rule says each CWS's written plan must specify test frequency, and sets a floor: assemblies required at non-residential service connections (any connection other than a residential one as defined in the rule) are tested after installation or repair and at least annually. The frequency is set inside each CWS's plan but may not be less strict than this floor.
• Assemblies required at residential service connections (two inches or less, building containing only dwelling units, including dedicated irrigation or fire connections) are tested at least every two years, not annually.
• The state requires each CWS's plan to set the frequency, tester qualifications and test procedures, so details differ by utility.

Sources: Florida rule; Florida rule; Florida rule