York Region

Licensed plumbers in Markham.

Markham runs its own backflow program, keeps a public list of the testers allowed to work here, and bans a few things you would probably assume were allowed. The local rules are worth knowing.

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Markham is a set of heritage villages with thirty-odd years of subdivision wrapped around them. Unionville, Markham Village, Thornhill and Buttonville are all designated heritage conservation districts, with nineteenth-century building stock still standing and still plumbed. Milliken and the Thornhill flats filled in through the 1960s and 70s. Wismer, Greensborough, Berczy, Angus Glen, Cachet and Cornell went up through the 1990s and 2000s, and Markham Centre has been stacking mid-rise and high-rise since the mid-2000s.

Markham also handles more of its own plumbing administration than its neighbours do. York Region buys treated Lake Ontario water from Toronto and Peel and sells it on; Markham is a distribution-only system that delivers it and bills for it. The City runs its own cross-connection control program under a City by-law, with testers registered directly with Markham rather than the Region. The water itself tests around 123 mg/L, which the City calls hard.

We work across Markham for homeowners, landlords, property managers, contractors and builders, from a single repair to a full commercial rough-in.

What we run into on Markham plumbing calls.

Markham's own backflow program, and who it catches

The City runs cross-connection control under its own by-law, administered by Environmental Services rather than York Region.

It applies to essentially every property except houses individually serviced through a single connection under 50 mm. Then it comes back for those houses anyway if there is a lawn irrigation system, a fire protection system, or any auxiliary water supply.

Surveys are on a five-year cycle, devices are tested when installed and annually after that, and reports go to the City inside two weeks. Testers must hold a current certificate and calibrated gauges, and must register with the City before doing any backflow work here. Installing or replacing a preventer needs a building permit.

Downspouts, weeping tile, and a decade of disconnection

Markham spent most of the 2010s disconnecting downspouts from the sanitary sewer, finishing at the end of 2022.

The programme ran in phases through Thornhill, Milliken, Unionville and Markham Village. Roof water in a sanitary sewer is prohibited under both the City's sewer use by-law and York Region's, and the reason is simple: a long storm fills the sanitary system with rain and it comes back up through the lowest fixture in somebody's basement.

If your downspouts or weeping tile still tie into the sanitary side, that is the first thing to correct, and the City's private plumbing rebate expects downspouts disconnected before it considers anything else.

If your street was built before 1978

Markham is unusually direct about this: its flood-prone areas were planned and built before 1978, when the design storm was a two-year event, against a hundred-year standard today.

That is not a maintenance problem, it is a sizing problem, and the City has been rebuilding sewers under a long-running flood control program in West Thornhill, around the Don Mills Channel, and through Markham Village and Unionville. What you can do on your own side of the property line is narrower: a backwater valve against sewer surcharge, weeping tile disconnection with a sump pump against groundwater, or relining a failing lateral.

The City's rebate covers work in known flood-prone areas, and its terms change, so check them before budgeting.

Commercial kitchens, interceptors, and one rule that surprises people

Markham's sewer use by-law requires a grease interceptor at every food sector establishment, sized to the Building Code and CSA B481.

It takes pot and dish sinks and cooking equipment drains, never toilets or urinals. It has to be inspected and cleaned at least every four weeks, sooner once solids pass roughly a quarter of the liquid volume, with maintenance records kept on site.

Enzymes, bacteria, solvents and hot water used to flush grease through the unit are specifically not allowed. Installing or replacing an interceptor takes a building permit. On the residential side, worth knowing: in-sink garbage disposals are not permitted in Markham.

Most requested

What Markham customers call us about most.

Questions

Plumbing in Markham.

Do I need a permit for plumbing work in Markham?

More often than in most municipalities. Markham requires a plumbing permit for plumbing work inside a building or on private property, including site servicing, installing a fixture where there is no other construction, and installing a backflow preventer. Where the plumbing forms part of a larger permitted project, it is usually covered by that permit instead. We confirm which applies before we start and book the inspections.

Who receives my backflow test report in Markham?

The City of Markham, not York Region. Reports go to Environmental Services within two weeks of the test, and the tester has to be registered with the City beforehand, holding a current tester's certificate and a gauge calibrated within the last year. Registration is free and the City publishes the list. If you have had a notice and are unsure what it wants, send it to us and we will read it.

I own a house. Does Markham's backflow by-law apply to me?

Usually not. Houses individually serviced from the municipal system through a single connection under 50 mm are exempt. The exemption falls away if the house has a lawn irrigation system, a fire protection system, or any auxiliary water supply such as a well or a cistern. An in-ground sprinkler system is the one that catches most owners out, because it needs a backflow preventer.

Our restaurant's main line keeps backing up. Why?

Almost always the grease interceptor. Either it is undersized for whatever kitchen ended up in the unit, or it is not being cleaned and logged on a four-week schedule, or somebody has been running hot water and detergent through it and pushing emulsified grease downstream to cool in the lateral. Clearing the line treats the symptom. Sizing and servicing the interceptor is the repair.

Do you charge extra to come to Markham?

No. Travel inside our service area is built into our pricing, so there is no trip fee anywhere in Markham. For plaza units, office campuses and condo buildings, tell us about loading access and any restrictions on when water can be shut off when you book, so we can plan the visit and bring the right parts the first time.

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Working in Markham?

Send the details through the quote form and we will come back to you with next steps. For anything urgent, call the office. A phone call always beats a web form.

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