Unfortunately, many business owners do not think twice about their water systems until a Legionella outbreak, a failed assessment, or, worst of all, someone seriously falls ill. But by this time, it’s too late. Water Safety Assessments are supposed to prevent imminent crises from escalating but for those who’ve never experienced one, the process seems completely shrouded in mystery.
It’s more time consuming than one might expect. A simple walkthrough with a clipboard for twenty minutes is not enough. A thorough assessment inspects all segments of a building’s water system for conditions that could pose dangerous bacteria or noncompliance thresholds.
General Assessment of the Building/Audit
Most assessors start with a general building walkthrough. They need to understand how water enters into a building, where it sits, how it heats up and where it disperses (the ends). This includes all pipes to end points, including taps, toilets, showers, and cooling towers.
What throws many people off are the “dead legs”. These are pieces of pipe that no longer get water because they lead to a tap that hasn’t been used in years or a renovation that had a pipe cut off yet, instead of being properly removed, was capped. In either case, Legionella likes stagnant water that sits in these pipes with nowhere to go. Legionella thrives in ideal conditions between 20-45°C.
The inspector will map out all outlets, note decorative waters (like fountains), cooling systems and decide which rooms are routinely used versus rooms that are hardly ever entered. Complicated buildings like hotels or apartment buildings have mixed-use areas that complicate matters; the hotel has a gym, conference area and spa that see different frequency usages versus the residential rooms.
Temperature Checks
Temperature checks are taken at various points throughout the system. Cold water should be no warmer than 20°C and hot water should be no cooler than 60°C at the calorifier (water heater) and 50°C at any tap after running for one minute.
The temperature specifications are not arbitrary; they are impossible conditions for Legionella growth to occur.
However, many buildings fail at such temp assessments. Older/non-functioning water heaters do not heat enough. Pipes that run through areas (like attics) maintain colder temperature on the way to the tap. Cold water tanks in roof spaces become overheated on summer days making them more conducive for growth. Legionella thrives everywhere.
Assessors will take temperature readings from what are called sentinel taps, the first and last taps in any given circuit of the water system. If these are properly heated or cooled, then presumably, the rest of the system should be acceptable. However, if there is a problem at the sentinel tap, an issue indicative of what’s happening throughout the entire system.
For businesses that want to assess their current condition risk levels, the Water Safety Audit is an assessment audit with in-depth temperature checks for various temperatures throughout the system.
Documentation Review
This often confuses facility managers. In addition to visual assessment of what’s physically there, an assessor wants to see paperwork. Maintenance records, old assessment documents, temperature checks and aged sheets over time; information demonstrating that someone has been paying attention to water quality over time.
UK regulations require this documentation. As part of Health and Safety law in the UK, owners and managers must take responsibility for maintaining this information. The Health and Safety Executive notes that if you haven’t been checking your systems and maintaining paper trails along the way, you’re not compliant; if the report is clean but the person observing has no checks or failures to check over time, there’s still noncompliance.
Many businesses fail this step because they haven’t been keeping record of minutiae or they’ve not been keeping extensive records. Assessors need to see trends over time, is temperature safety appropriate consistently? Is maintenance kept? When problems were noted before, were they resolved?
Inspection of Equipment
Water tanks, calorifiers (water heaters), cooling towers and other major players get evaluated more intimately. Assessors note scale buildup from hard water and corrosion, sediment over time and presence of biofilm; insulation needed on pipes/tanks; tank lids needing proper fitting/meshing so insects and external debris aren’t getting in.
Cooling towers need additional assessment because they’re breeding grounds for outbreaks. An assessor looks at the structure of the cooling tower, presence of a water treatment system, maintenance checks, and will assess cleanliness as necessary. Cooling towers create mists, delicate water droplets, so while aerosolized Legionella can be inhaled through mists, anything inside the tower can be dangerous as well.
Shower heads/taps need to be checked for scale and biofilm as well and a good assessor will often unscrew a shower head to see what’s inside. It’s not pleasant but necessary. Where water gets sprayed into the air can be problematic.
Assessment and Classification of Risk Levels
Based upon what an assessor finds, they determine high/medium/low risk levels based upon presence or possibility of Legionella development. The goal is not to ascertain whether Legionella is present in this moment but instead whether conditions make it possible for growth later.
High-risk conditions mostly include temperature range issues or stagnant/no water; if biofilm is present; if occupants with compromised immune systems could trigger illness as a result, care homes, hospitals especially need to pay attention.
High-risk assessment also focuses on who uses the building regularly; a warehouse with hard working adults during normal hours poses different risk levels than a hotel with elderly guests taking long showers.
While Legionella can infect anyone, groups like the elderly, smokers and those with decreased immune response are at more significant risk for developing serious illness.
Final Report
All of this information gets compiled into a report showing findings and specific risks/pathways forward ranked for timeliness. Critical levels must be remediated immediately while improvements can be scheduled in due time or noted for later as long term improvements.
The report should be legible so someone without technical knowledge can respect why changes should happen when necessary. A good assessor will explain in practical terms, “We need to flush this dead leg pipe once a week because it’s no longer used” instead of jargon, “Dead leg indicated needing remediation”.
What Happens After Assessment?
The assessment is only the beginning. Someone needs to remediate what’s wrong based upon assessed trends and move forward with ongoing checks to avoid further issues down the road. Most businesses need a proper water safety management plan if one does not exist, a comprehensive document for responsibilities/schedules/checks on systems.
Subsequent assessments ensure problems have been resolved and no new problems have developed; buildings change from people moving in/out, seasons change systems temperature effects for better or worse; wear-and-tear creates new considerations over time.
The frequency for reassessment is based on complexity versus systems risk levels but most commercial buildings need professional assessments every two years (with monthly/quarterly evaluations in between).
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