REQUESTS

To establish water service or add a new water meter, please complete this online form.

If you are developing a new project and need a “Will Serve” letter to verify the availability of water service through BSMWC, please fill out the following form:

A deposit check of $4,300, an admin processing fee of $70, and installation of $140 are due prior to delivery of a fire hydrant meter. Cash is not accepted. This deposit check can be mailed or deposited in the drop box at our office.

Any applicant desiring a temporary service from a fire hydrant shall specify in this application the location of the hydrant or hydrants from which service is desired. The Company will, when such an application has been accepted, connect the meter to a hydrant as near as possible to the requested location. The applicant shall pay a refundable deposit for each temporary service location of $4,300, an admin processing fee of $70, and installation fee of $140 are due prior to delivery of a fire hydrant meter. Cash is not accepted. This deposit check can be mailed or deposited in the drop box at our office. The amount of the required deposit and/or water rate may be adjusted by Board action from time to time. Upon discontinuance of service, provided the meter has been recovered by the Company in acceptable condition, the deposit will be applied to any unpaid charges due the Company, and the balance, if any, will be refunded to the applicant. If the meter is damaged or missing, the deposit shall be applied first to the cost of repairing or replacing the meter, and second to any unpaid charges. The customer will be responsible for any shortfall between the amount due and the deposit. Any balance of the deposit remaining after deduction of costs and unpaid charges will be refunded to the customer. Water delivered through a temporary water service shall be charged at the construction rate.

Water Standards

Please click below to view the pdfs:

Backflow/Cross-Connection Information

A cross-connection is an interconnection between a potable water supply and a non-potable source via any actual or potential connection or structural arrangement between Bellflower-Somerset Mutual Water Company’s system and any source containing liquid, gas, or other substances.

A garden hose running while it is laying in a water source like a pool or other form of non-potable liquid or other form of contamination. If the pressure drops in the distribution system, using a garden hose without backflow prevention has the potential to pollute or contaminate our water system by back-siphonage.

Backflow is the undesirable reversal of flow of water or mixtures of water and other liquids, gases, or other substances into the distribution pipes of the potable supply of water from any source or sources. When this happens, the water system can become contaminated with pollutants that may be harmful to water users.

There are two conditions that contribute to backflow:

1. Backpressure

Any elevation of pressure in the downstream piping system (by pump, elevation of piping, steam pressure, air pressure, etc.) above the supply pressure at the point of consideration, which would cause or tend to cause a reversal of the normal direction of flow.

2. Back-Siphonage

A form of backflow due to a reduction in system pressure, which causes a sub-atmospheric pressure to exist in the water system. When atmospheric pressure is greater than the potable water side, a reversal of flow can take place from the non-potable side.

  • Please note that installation of a backflow prevention assembly at the water meter protects Bellflower-Somerset Mutual Water Company from potential backflow, but it does not prevent backflow within your internal piping system. We recommend that you have all potential cross-connections on your property identified and addressed by a qualified professional to help protect the water on your own property.
  • Backflow prevention devices used to protect the distribution system must be installed immediately after the water meter. These devices are owned and maintained by the customer or property owner.
  • Installation of a backflow prevention device immediately after the water meter is required on agricultural, landscape, commercial or industrial water services.
  • This device only protects the water distribution system, not internal plumbing.
  • This device is installed above ground and has the necessary test connections to determine if each part of the device is operating correctly.
  • Test cocks on a backflow prevention device are only to be used by Certified Testers for testing the device. Connections to the test cocks or any other part of the device defeat the purpose of the backflow prevention device, and could damage it.

As part of Bellflower-Somerset Mutual Water Company Cross-Connection Program, the cross-connections specialist routinely conducts surveys of new and existing facilities to determine which type of backflow prevention is necessary to help protect the water system.

BSMWC accepts backflow prevention assemblies approved by the USC Foundation for Cross-Connection Control and Hydraulic Research. Backflow prevention assemblies for domestic lines must also meet the “lead free” requirements per Health and Safety Code (HSC) section 116875. List of approved backflow prevention assemblies: http://fccchr.usc.edu/list.html

  • BSMWC works to help protect the distribution system from contamination and pollution from backflow. If backflow prevention is required at the water meter, these devices must be tested initially and annually to confirm they are operating correctly. In our service areas, tests and maintenance of backflow prevention devices must be conducted by State Water Resource Control Board approved organizations. Bellflower-Somerset Mutual Water Company will only accept testers with CA-NV AWWA, ABPA, and ASSE certification.
  • County of Los Angeles Department of Public Health
    BSMWC does not monitor on-site backflow prevention assemblies that protect the internal plumbing system within the property. For annual testing of on-site backflow prevention assemblies or backflow tester certification, please contact the County of Los Angeles Department of Public Health’s Cross Connection and Water Pollution Control Program.

Customers that receive annual notices for testing and have questions regarding backflow should call Omar Carrillo at (562) 376-3544 or email ocarrillo@bsmwc.com.

Fire Flow Test & Application

Bellflower-Somerset Mutual Water Company offers fire flow availability testing services for all buildings other than one- and two-family dwellings, townhomes, and auxiliary dwelling units.

A $280 fee is due prior to the test. This check can be mailed or deposited in the drop box at our office. Cash is not accepted. To request this service, please fill out the following form and email it to customerservice@bsmwc.com for evaluation.

Form 196- For All Buildings Other Than One- and Two-Family Dwellings (R-3), Townhomes, and Accessory Dwelling Unit’s

Form 195- For One- and Two-Family Dwellings, Townhomes, and Accessory Dwelling Unit’s