Backflow Tester List

State rules

Maine

Maine’s Drinking Water Program, in the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, tells public water systems that unprotected cross-connections can have serious consequences. Its treatment page says backwash disposal lines and chemical-solution tank makeup lines must be protected by an air gap at least twice the diameter of the discharging line. Fire sprinkler systems, yard hydrants, and irrigation systems must have a proper testable backflow prevention device that provides continuous protection against backflow or back-siphonage. The page says a closed valve is not a backflow prevention device. The drinking-water rules make failure to obtain a cross-connection permit a violation. The pages reviewed do not create a state tester license.

Checked against official sources on October 11, 2026. Rules and links change; confirm with the office listed before you act.

Try a ZIP like 30303, “Travis County” or “Columbus, OH”
Drinking-water agency
The Maine Drinking Water Program at the Center for Disease Control and Prevention oversees cross-connection requirements for public water systems.
Who may test an assembly
The program requires testable devices on specified connections. The pages reviewed do not license the tester; the water system identifies who may test.
Official program page
Official page →

The drinking-water rules, 10-144 CMR chapter 231, list failure to obtain a permit for a cross-connection, as required at section 4(F), among the violations in the penalty provisions. The rules page on the program site links a document titled Cross Connection Rules. The treatment page also says a bypass cannot be installed on treatment the Drinking Water Program requires, because a bypass can let required treatment be skipped. A bypass is not a solution for inactive equipment. Those operation rules sit with the system owner. They are not a certification syllabus for a private tester.

The program’s guidebook for transient public water systems defines a cross-connection as any actual or potential connection between a distribution pipe of potable water from a public water system and any water pipe, soil pipe, sewer, drain, or other unapproved source. It names garden hoses, chemical sprayers, air conditioning, fire protection, lawn irrigation, high-pressure boilers, soda fountains, and water coolers as examples. It recommends a facility survey, local plumbing-inspector approval of plumbing changes, hose-bib vacuum breakers, and approved backflow preventers where a cross-connection cannot be eliminated.

Because the state pages reviewed here do not name ASSE, ABPA, or AWWA as an accepted personal credential, this record does not treat those cards as a Maine tester license. A water system may still require a particular credential in its own program. Ask that system who may test the device on a fire line, yard hydrant, or irrigation system, and ask whether a cross-connection permit is required before the connection is made. No fee is stated on the pages used here.

Official resources in Maine

Maine CDC treatment and cross connections

Requires testable protection on fire, yard-hydrant, and irrigation connections and says a closed valve is not protection.

Drinking water statutes and rules

Links the drinking-water rule and the cross-connection rules.

Rules relating to drinking water

Lists failure to obtain a cross-connection permit as a violation of section 4(F).

Key facts for Maine

What to do next

  1. Ask the water system whether a cross-connection permit is required before the connection is used.
  2. Do not treat a shut valve as protection; the state page says it is not.
  3. Ask who the system accepts to test fire, hydrant, and irrigation devices.
  4. Keep chemical fill lines on an air gap rather than a hose left in the tank.

Looking for your city or county in Maine?

We haven't found official program-level pages for Maine we can verify yet, so we don't show local numbers here rather than guess. Here's what to use instead, in order:

  1. General Start with the statewide information above. It applies across Maine, but cities and counties can add their own steps, fees or deadlines.
  2. Call to confirm Ask the official office. They have the current local rule, fee and form.
    Maine Drinking Water Program cross-connection guidance
    Website →
    Phone not shown: use the contact page on the official website above.
    Your city or county office: Local governments →
    Not sure who handles it locally? USAGov's free help line, 1-844-872-4681, or the Maine page on USA.gov can point you to the right office.
  3. Know the current info? Tell us and include a link to the official page. We check every tip before it goes up.

Helpful guides

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