permit for sprinkler system (Fort Worth, Howe: home, contractor, gated)

[RJParker]

I installed a sprinkler system without permit. now I received a notice from fort worth water department saying "failure to permit for installing backflow assembly".
does anyone know how to correct this and how to deal with city carefully without having to re-do the entire sprinkler system?

[escanlan]

Originally Posted by RJParker

I installed a sprinkler system without permit. now I received a notice from fort worth water department saying "failure to permit for installing backflow assembly".
does anyone know how to correct this and how to deal with city carefully without having to re-do the entire sprinkler system?

What you need to do is speak with the Fort Worth Planning and Development Department, Building Permits section. Their WEB site is Permits and Plans Exam | City of Fort Worth, Texas. They will tell you what needs to be done to make the installation acceptable to the City. Without knowing any of the installation details it is not possible to guess what they might say. However they are not there to rake you over the coals if you deal politely and civil with them.

What is of importance here though is who installed your sprinkler system? Only licensed irrigation specialists are allowed to perform this work, or a licensed plumber. Either of those should either have applied for the permit themselves or not started work until you applied for one.

[TexasVines]

1. homeowners can install sprinkler systems themselves that is perfectly legal

2. you need to install an approved backflow preventer and then you need to have it certified by a licensed backflow inspector

here is the approved list of testers in Fort Worth

http://fortworthtexas.gov/water/info....aspx?id=23936

the device should cost you about $200 or less and the inspection should probably cost about the same or less

3. contact the office that sent you the letter and make sure you are allowed to install it yourself.....but you ARE 100% allowed as a homeowner to install a sprinkler system on your own property so you have no issue there

4. if the above ~$400 dollars for the preventer and testing is more than you can or want to spend ask the office that sent the letter to you if you can disconnect the system from your fixed plumbing and instead install a temp hose to the system that is only connected when the system is running and then after you turn the system off (for the hour or 30 minutes or what ever time you run it) you can disconnect that hose......again it is not a seasonal connection it is an EACH TIME connection

so if you wanted to irrigate your lawn you would go outside, hook the temp hose up to your hose bib, hit the water on, irrigate, then immediately after you had irrigated for the desired period of time you would disconnect the hose from the hose bib

this would make your sprinkler system not automatic of course, but if you do not have the money for backflow prevention and inspection this might be your only alternative......and of course if you are forgetful, lazy, or just a scofflaw and you just leave the hose connected to your system then you can and should expect to get fined

they will probably say no you can't do that, but I am not sure what they could do if you disconnected a "fixed permanent" connection from your home plumbing system to your sprinkler and left the sprinkler in the ground......I suppose they would have to catch you with the temp hose hooked up since I don't think there is any rule against an "abandoned" former sprinkler system staying in the ground after being disconnected from the home plumbing

5. this is an issue and you need to do something about it and it is for your own health most of all since you and the residents of your home will be the first to drink any water that might get sucked back in from your system without the proper prevention device in the case of loss of water pressure or total loss of water that created a back suction through open connections like your sprinkler heads or broken lines

[RJParker]

Escanlan and TexasVines:
Thanks very much for your reply.
anyone has used a reasonably priced, licensed irrigation contractor and can share?

[loves2read]

I have used irrigation company I found from Angie's List
They are not so cheap but I have found them reliable and they don't pad their time when they work
Andy's Sprinklers
817-608-0660
They are not in FtW so might not work in your area---are in Carrellton I think