Toronto, Peel, York, Durham and Halton each receive backflow test reports differently. A city-by-city table of where your report goes, what a complete submission contains and why to keep your own copy.
You manage a plaza in Mississauga, a condo in Vaughan and an office in Toronto. Three tests, three reports, and three different places they have to go. Send one to the wrong desk and that property is non-compliant, with a fresh tag on the pipe and nothing on file.
Quick answer
- Toronto: the report goes to Toronto Water through the City’s online Backflow Prevention Device Test Report form.
- Mississauga, Brampton and Bolton: Region of Peel. Oshawa and Pickering: Region of Durham. Oakville: Halton Region.
- Vaughan, Markham, Richmond Hill, Aurora, King City and Barrie: the city or township’s own program.
- Only a certified Cross Connection Control Specialist can complete and submit the report; the owner is responsible for making sure it is filed.
- Keep your own copy of every filed report, whoever submits it.
Where does a backflow test report go in each GTA municipality?
To whichever authority runs the cross-connection control program for that address: the City in Toronto, the Region in Peel, Durham and Halton, and the local city or town in York Region and Barrie. The table below covers the municipalities we test in.
| Municipality | Authority | By-law or program | How the report is submitted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Toronto | Toronto Water | Water Supply By-law, Chapter 851 | City’s online Backflow Prevention Device Test Report form |
| Vaughan | City of Vaughan | By-law 177-2020 | Through the city’s program; we file it for you |
| Markham | City of Markham | By-law 2012-29 | Through the city’s program; we file it for you |
| Richmond Hill | City of Richmond Hill | By-law 125-14 | Through the city’s program; we file it for you |
| Aurora | Town of Aurora | By-law 6213-19 | Through the town’s program; we file it for you |
| King City | Township of King | Cross-connection control program | Through the township’s program; we file it for you |
| Mississauga, Brampton, Bolton | Region of Peel | Peel Backflow Prevention By-law | Through the regional program; we file it for you |
| Oshawa, Pickering | Region of Durham | Durham backflow prevention program | Through the regional program; we file it for you |
| Oakville | Halton Region | Cross-Connection Control Program | Through the regional program by an authorized tester; we file it for you |
| Barrie | City of Barrie Water Operations | By-law 2017-121 | Through the city’s program; we file it for you |
For the local details behind each row, see our by-town guide to Ontario backflow regulations.
Why do some reports go to the region and others to the city?
Because the authority that administers the cross-connection control program receives the report. In Peel, Durham and Halton the Region runs the program, so reports from Mississauga, Oshawa or Oakville go to the Region. In Toronto and Barrie the city runs it.
In York Region the picture is different: Vaughan, Markham, Richmond Hill, Aurora and King each administer their own cross-connection control program under their own by-law, so the report goes to the local city or township.
How is a backflow test report submitted in Toronto?
Through the City’s online Backflow Prevention Device Test Report form, completed by the certified tester. Toronto does not take a mailed PDF, and each device on the property is submitted as its own report.
A building with a domestic device, an irrigation device and a fire line DCDA therefore files three reports, each with its own readings and serial number. Our page on how Toronto test report filing works walks through the form, and the City’s own program page is at toronto.ca.
For a copy of a report filed in the past, Toronto Water can be reached at 416-394-8888 or backflow@toronto.ca.
What does a complete submission contain?
A complete report ties one device to one test and one tester, with enough detail that the authority can verify all three. Whichever municipality it goes to, the content is much the same.
- Property address, owner and the contact the authority should write to
- Device location in the building and the connection it protects
- Device type (DCVA, RP, PVB or DCDA), make, model, size and serial number
- Pressure readings from each check valve and, on an RP, the relief valve
- Pass or fail result, and any repairs carried out before a passing result
- Tester’s name, certification number and gauge calibration details
- The test date and, for a repaired device in Toronto, confirmation the retest fell within 72 hours
Halton checks who files: Halton Region publishes a list of authorized testers under its Cross-Connection Control Program. Confirm your tester is on it before you book an Oakville test.
Properties in more than one municipality? We test across the GTA and file each report with the right authority, then send you the confirmation — $350 per device, less per device for portfolios. Get a fixed quote or call (647) 578-9903.
Why should you keep your own copy of the report?
Because the owner, not the tester, answers to the municipality, and the tester may not be around when the question comes. A copy in your own files is the only proof that is fully under your control.
- Contractors change. The company that tested three years ago may not have records, or may not exist.
- Notices happen anyway. Reports go astray; a copy with a submission confirmation closes a notice in one email.
- Leases and condo declarations. When testing cost is shared or disputed, the report shows who did what and when.
- Insurance and due diligence. Buyers, lenders and insurers ask for compliance records, and a stack of filed reports answers the question.
What if your portfolio spans several municipalities?
Use one tester who knows every program, so you are not learning ten submission routes yourself. Backflow Inspector, a service of MT Drains & Plumbing, tests and files in Toronto, Vaughan, Mississauga, Oakville, Oshawa and the rest of the GTA.
Every device goes to the right authority, you get the copy, and we remind you before the next annual test is due.
Quick answers
Ten municipalities, one tester, every report filed
We test across the GTA and file each report with the right authority for $350 per device, less per device for multi-property portfolios.