Wait, they're saying the flood was caused by not having a backflow device? I work on those professionally, and sorry, that's not how they work. They'll let all the water INTO the property that you want; they just prevent water from getting back out through the pipes into the public water system. PM me if your lawyer isn't familiar with how they work or wants more information on them.
Also, I'll have to look up the exact dates, but the state hasn't mandated retrofitting older installations with them for a number of years yet. 2025, I think, off the top of my head. New commercial properties are supposed to be, and residential may still be required by the local codes to be retrofitted; I don't know about your district.
On a completely other subject, does anyone know of a plucker in Central California for beg, borrow, or rent for a 4-H class? I was going to have them hand pluck too, but we're gearing up to have quite a lot of birds to process.