Baltimore City Department of Public Works: backflow testing rules
Serves Baltimore, MD. Every point below comes from Baltimore City Department of Public Works's own pages, linked; check your notice for your own deadline.
Who must test
- In high-hazard buildings, each floor with hazardous water uses needs a backflow device on the line supplying that floor, in addition to the one on the main. Source.
How the report is filed
- Under section 607.3.1.3, all testing and inspections must be recorded on a certificate attached to the backflow prevention device. Source.
Tester registration
- Under the Baltimore plumbing code (section 608.1.1), only a person licensed by the State as a master or journeyman plumber may connect backflow prevention devices to the city water supply. Source.
If a test is missed
- A cross-connection that does not comply with the law is grounds for immediate termination of water service; people given notice must act immediately to control it. Source.
- Failure to fix a non-compliant cross-connection is grounds for abandonment of the water or fire service line to the property, with all costs charged to the property owner. Source.
Program
- The DPW Rules and Regulations for Water and Wastewater prohibit all cross-connections except where approved backflow prevention is installed under the Building, Fire, and Related Codes of Baltimore City or as DPW determines. Source.
Read October 6, 2026. Program page: codes.baltimorecity.gov.