Landlords and duty holders of commercial and residential properties will be aware that they have a responsibility under Health and Safety Executive (HSE) guidance to manage risk from legionella. Good practice during business as usual is outlined in HSE and RICS guidance notes.
Ideally a risk assessment will have been undertaken, and where risk is identified, a water monitoring regime will be in place, normally implemented by a water hygiene management company, to regularly confirm water quality.
The monitoring regime should follow the requirements of ACoP L8: Legionnaires’ disease: The control of legionella bacteria in water systems, fourth edition, 2013.
It is clear that in the current situation, risks and control measures highlighted previously will need to be re-visited. COVID-19 has resulted in extreme fluctuations in building occupancy. This has an associated risk of stagnation in water systems and dramatically increases the potential for outbreaks of Legionnaires’ disease if actions taken now are not carefully considered.
If a building is closed down, careful consideration should be given to recommissioning of water systems. When buildings have been empty for some time and during warm weather, it is likely that bacteria levels and biofilm will increase, complicating the disinfection process. There will also be increased demand for competent contractors to undertake this work.
I would advise those in property to engage with a competent professional and make their clients aware of the cost, duration and safety implications of recommissioning, which can be a lengthy process involving cleaning and disinfection of water systems.
While it’s unclear when normality will resume, it would be sensible to consider the future for maintaining safe water systems, and how new technology can help us cope.
If social distancing measures and working from home become standard, at least for the foreseeable future, landlords can expect occupancy to continue to fluctuate. There may be restrictions or reluctance on the part of clients to allow engineer site visits to proceed as usual. We will certainly see a resource stretch on the limited pool of competent water hygiene consultants/contractors in the near future, as water hygiene issues arise from a vast number of building close-downs.
Technology can help us bridge this gap. To understand how it can do so, we should note that legionella bacteria proliferates in stagnant water between 20C and 45C. Consequently, keeping the hot water hot, the cold water cold and preventing stagnation by flushing little-used outlets is the commonest form of legionella control.
On larger property portfolios and water systems, reductions in carbon emission, water use and energy quickly mount up, particularly where the site is being visited by a contractor to collect temperature data.
The incorporation of remote sensing technologies is becoming more widespread as a result of the price drop in technology. As this type of innovation continues to develop it will help us meet the challenges of water hygiene in the post-COVID-19 era.
Joe Finn is director of Remote Tech Ltd joe@remote-tech.co.uk
Related competencies include: Facilities management, Health and safety
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