Poorly managed water within a building carries a variety of risks to the health of staff, the public and others using that premises and surrounding areas.

Serious potentially illness

The most serious threat is Legionnaires' disease, a form of pneumonia caused by legionella bacteria, which breed in lukewarm water where nutrients such as sludge, scale, rust or organic matter are present.

The disease is spread through contaminated droplets of water from sources such as air conditioning systems, humidifiers, showerheads, whirlpool baths or some food display cabinets.

 

Legionnaires' kills in up to 18% of reported cases and, while outbreaks are uncommon; they can be extremely serious, for example at the Barrow-in-Furness arts centre in 2002, where over 130 people were infected.

 

The London Hazard Centre has suggested that there may be many more cases than realised, given the belief that between two and ten percent of all pneumonia cases are in fact Legionnaires' disease. The elderly or very young are particularly at risk.

The legislation

Businesses that allow their water systems to spread the bacteria, run the risk of major claims from victims, or prosecution under the Health and Safety at Work Act or Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) regulations.

 

The Health and Safety Executive Approved Code of Practice on The Prevention or Control of Legionellosis, gives clear and practical guidance regarding design, operation and maintenance of water systems to minimise the risk.

 

The Code demands that businesses with water systems assess and manage the risk and that includes taking advice from a competent person.

 

Those who don't comply with the Code may have this used in evidence against them, if they are prosecuted under the Act or the COSHH regulations.

 

The risk is greatest where water lies stagnant for significant periods at between 20 and 45 degrees centigrade in un-maintained systems and where there is a mechanism to create droplets,

 

Avoiding such conditions requires expertise, for which a growing number of people are turning to professionals in the field of water quality management.