Mid-Columbia Backflow, LLC specializes in residential and commercial backflow testing and landscape irrigation repair. The business was started in 2018 by Philip Agnor and is currently registered in Oregon and Washington. Public health officials have long been concerned about cross-connections and backflow prevention but it wasn’t until 1974 that Congress established the Safe Drinking Water Act (SOWA). The Act established that unprotected cross-connections had to be eliminated or protected in order to safeguard human health from contaminants in drinking water. Part of the Act included the installation and maintenance of backflow prevention assemblies.
Mid-Columbia Backflow is a full service backflow testing company providing customers with a range of services related to backflow assemblies and landscape irrigation systems. In addition to being a certified backflow assembly tester registered with Oregon Health Authority and the Washington State Department of Health, Mid-Columbia Backflow, LLC is also a licensed, bonded and insured landscape irrigation and backflow testing company registered with the Oregon Landscape Contractors Board. This unique combination of licenses provides the customer with the convenience of using one company to test and repair backflow assemblies and complete seasonally necessary maintenance of landscape irrigation systems.
Jim Jans of Jans Backflow Testing approached Agnor to assist with yearly blackflow tests in 2019 and offered to sell his client list to Agnor in preparation for his retirement. With financing secured through Mid-Columbia Economic Development District (MCEDD) and support from the Columbia Gorge Community College Small Business Development Center, Agnor was able to purchase the local Hood River backflow testing business, which has been servicing Hood River County and Wasco County for the past 20 years. The purchase allowed Agnor to expand his customer base and service area.
The MCEDD Loan Program is available to entrepreneurs, start-up businesses and existing businesses doing business in the five county (Sherman, Hood River, Wasco, Klickitat and Skamania) Mid-Columbia Area. This loan program is part of MCEDD’s efforts to strengthen and support the region’s economy. For more information on MCEDD’s Loan Program, visit www.mcedd.org.