Backflow Testing in Lanham, MD

Lanham's setting

Lanham is an unincorporated, fully built-out inner suburb straddling the Capital Beltway beside New Carrollton's Metro and Amtrak station. Neighborhoods like Seabrook sit alongside office buildings, retail along Annapolis Road and Lanham-Severn Road, and medical facilities near Doctors Community Hospital. The median home was built in 1969. Houses from that era almost never had a backflow assembly when they were new, so a residential device here was usually added with a sprinkler system, a boiler or a remodel. Commercial and healthcare buildings are another matter: many have several assemblies, and every testable one needs its yearly test.

Because Lanham is unincorporated, building permits come from Prince George's County DPIE, while WSSC issues and inspects all plumbing permits. The county lists testable backflow devices as one of the few replacements that need a permit. The county's cross-connection line is 301-206-8601.

Rebuild or replace?

Signs to look for

• A WSSC test notice for an assembly at your address
• Water running from an RPZ relief port
• Low or erratic pressure on the protected line
• Damage from frost, landscaping equipment or vehicles
• Equipment changes in a business, such as new boilers or chemical dispensers

Timing and seasonal notes

Residential irrigation assemblies are best tested at spring start-up, and commercial devices are often tested on a fixed date each year so the reports stay current. Winter is the riskiest time for an outdoor assembly; drain it and add an insulated cover before the first hard freeze. Indoor boiler and fire-line devices can be tested any month. If a business near Annapolis Road needs several devices tested, booking them on the same visit keeps the water shutoffs short and the reports filed together. For a house that has changed hands, ask the sellers for the last test report so the new owner knows when the next one is due.