San Antonio Water System (SAWS): backflow testing rules
Serves San Antonio, TX. Every point below comes from San Antonio Water System (SAWS)'s own pages, linked; check your notice for your own deadline.
Who must test
- A backflow prevention assembly must be tested and certified at installation and at least once a year after that by a licensed backflow tester. Source.
- BSI sends notices for commercial and residential sites with alternative water use or on-site sewage facilities; residential reminders for lawn irrigation assemblies are sent quarterly. Source.
Notices and deadlines
- Customers must have their assemblies tested annually and the report submitted to SAWS by June 30 each year. Source.
- City Code requires the signed test and maintenance form to reach the water system within ten days after the completed test; owners keep reports for at least three years. Source.
- For assemblies in the public right of way, testing must be completed within 30 days of the test due notice. Source.
How the report is filed
- The tester completes a Test and Maintenance (T and M) report for each assembly, and completed reports are submitted to BSI Online (bsionline.com). Source.
Tester registration
- Irrigation assemblies need a licensed backflow prevention assembly tester; fire line assemblies need a licensed fireline tester; recycled water assemblies need a tester with a gauge designated for recycled water. Source.
Fees
- City Code sets a fee per assembly delivered with the annual test report (amount in City Code section 10-83); the fee may be waived when the report is submitted online through SAWS's electronic submission program. Source.
Approved testers
- SAWS points customers to the BSI customer portal to find a registered testing company. List: app.bsionlinetracking.com (online lookup, not a file; not fetched). Source.
If a test is missed
- Customers with no report for the year get a 10-day notice by certified mail; failing to submit within 10 working days may result in water service being turned off. Reconnection trip fees range from $15 to $35. Source.
- A failed assembly must be repaired and retested; submitting a Test and Maintenance form showing a failed result is treated as a delinquency by SAWS. Source.
- Under City Code Chapter 34, a violation is a Class C misdemeanor with a fine of $200 to $2,000 per violation, each day a separate offense; a civil penalty of up to $5,000 per violation may also apply. Source.
Program
- SAWS has contracted Backflow Solutions Inc. (BSI) to help manage the program; BSI sends due and past due notices on SAWS's behalf. Source.
Read October 6, 2026. Program page: saws.org.