Lakewood is split between water providers, and their rules differ. Here's what each one wants.
Lakewood backflow rules at a glance
| Consolidated Mutual: who | Assemblies are required on non-single-family domestic, fire, and irrigation service lines (RP on irrigation, RPDA on fire). Single-family homes may need one for high hazards like pools, hot tubs, storage tanks, or an auxiliary water source. |
|---|---|
| Consolidated Mutual: how often | At installation, after any repair or maintenance, and at least once a year. Irrigation assemblies are tested at the beginning of spring. |
| Consolidated Mutual: deadlines | Passing results within 5 business days. Failed test: notify within 24 hours, file within 3 business days, repair within 10 business days. |
| Consolidated Mutual: filing | Online only, through CMWC's backflow test portal, by testing companies that have signed CMWC's testing agreement |
| Consolidated Mutual: contact | Backflow Department, 303-274-7433 |
| Denver Water customers | Annual tests by an ABPA- or ASSE-certified tester, reports emailed to Denver Water. Denver Water details → |
Summarized from Consolidated Mutual Water or Denver Water's published program information (source), checked October 2026. The notice from your water provider always has the final word on your due date.
Which provider are you?
Check the logo on your water bill or the letter that told you a test is due. The rules, the deadlines, and where the report goes all depend on it.
Consolidated Mutual is strict about its portal
CMWC no longer accepts paper or emailed reports, only reports filed through its online portal by testing companies set up under its testing agreement. It also expects a CMWC representative to witness the first test of a brand-new assembly. Ask any tester you hire whether they're set up to file with CMWC.
What we do on a Lakewood backflow test
- Confirm the assembly type, size, and serial number against your provider's records
- Test every check valve and relief valve with a differential pressure gauge calibrated October 2026 and traceable to NIST
- Tag the assembly with the service date, our business information, and the tester's certification number
- File the completed report the way Consolidated Mutual Water or Denver Water requires
- Send you a copy of the report, with photos
If the assembly fails
Most failures come down to a dirty or worn check valve, a tired relief valve, or a split rubber part. Those get cleaned or rebuilt and retested, usually in the same visit, after you approve the price. If the body itself is cracked, usually from a missed winterization, the assembly has to be replaced. Replacing an assembly is installation work, which in Colorado needs a licensed plumber; we'll tell you exactly what's needed and do the retest once it's in.
Before we come out
- Have the notice from your water provider handy, or send a photo of it when you book
- Tell us where the assembly is, and leave any gate unlocked or the mechanical room open
- For sprinkler assemblies, the water needs to be on. If the system is still winterized, we can do the spring startup and the test in one visit.
Not sure what kind of assembly you have? PVB vs. DCVA vs. RPZ →
Backflow testing nearby
Denver · Aurora · Thornton · Westminster · Arvada · Northglenn · Broomfield · Golden · Englewood · Commerce City · Wheat Ridge · Parker · Boulder · Louisville · Lafayette · Greenwood Village · Centennial · Commercial & HOA testing · For plumbing & irrigation companies · Every provider's rules
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