BC Business
Vancouver Backflow Testing is pledging free services to 100 eateries in the city.
Stuart MacDonald wants to help restaurants with his business, Vancouver Backflow Testing
Sometimes the most boring, boilerplate city regulations can have massive implications.
In the summer of 2019, the City of Vancouver started cracking down on businesses and residences to install backflow prevention assemblies and have them professionally tested on each year. The devices prevent the backward flow of contaminated water into our drinking water supply, and their absence or failure has been the cause of many chemical contamination issues, particularly in the U.S.
Around the same time, local Red Seal plumber Stuart MacDonald decided to start Vancouver Backflow Testing to provide services for less than some of the bigger companies.
“It’s always been a law, but it wasn’t really enforced,” MacDonald notes. His business was a success almost instantly. When entrepreneurs and homeowners alike got letters imploring them to get their backflow devices installed or tested, they would Google “Vancouver backflow test.” So yeah, not a bad business model.
But when COVID struck and many restaurants and other businesses had to close, the letters from the city didn’t stop coming. The city has also been going door-to-door to make sure people have backflow assemblies installed.
“I got all these calls from restaurants saying that they had to install these devices and pay fees when they’re not even open,” MacDonald says.
Backflow devices must be be installed on water connections to various fixtures commonly used in foodservice, such as dishwashers, steamers, ice machines and espresso makers. So when restaurants halted indoor dining again in March, it was a devastating blow.
MacDonald wants to do his part to help. He’s offering free backflow testing for 2021 (average cost per visit: $320) to the first 100 Vancouver restaurants that contact him.
Interested restaurants can email vancouverbackflowtesting@gmail.com to schedule a date and time.
This article originally appeared on Vancouver magazine’s website.