Proper treatment of building water systems in order to minimize the potential for Legionaire's Disease is becoming increasingly important. There are many documents and suggestions for Legionella control available, but perhaps the most important (at least in the US) is ASHRAE Standard 188. This standard was adopted in June, 2015 by the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Engineers. This standard was developed over the course of a decade or more, and represents the current "state of the art" for managing water systems to minimize risks associated with Legionella.  Since the standard was adopted, portions of it have been adopted into code in New York. This will probably occur in many other local jurisdictions in the coming months and years.  You can purchase a copy of Standard 188 at the ASHRAE website here:

www.ashrae.org/standards-research--technology/standards--guidelines

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Following ASHRAE Std 188 can allow your facility to develop a water management plan designed to minimize the potential for the LDB (Legionaire's Disease Bacterium) organism to survive and multiply in your water systems. By developing an effective water management plan, you minimize the potential for a disease outbreak associated with your facility to occur, and you also minimize your liability exposure. The standard requires the development and implementation of a water management plan for all systems where Legionella can multiply and be transmitted to building occupants. We work cooperatively with building owners and managers, water treatment suppliers and certified independent laboratories to help develop water management plans, oversee control programs and provide independent, third party testing protocols to verify the performance of the Legionella control program at your facility.

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Most buildings with water cooled HVAC systems already have a bacteria control program in place to prevent excessive bacterial growth, biofilm and associated probelms in the cooling tower or evaporative condenser on their system. A complete water management plan encompasses not only this system, but other areas of the building as well, iincluding water storage tanks, spas and hot tubs in the building, domestic (potable) water systems for sinks and showers, water features such as decorative fountains, ice making machines and other water systems where LDB can multiply. Sometimes these systems are not part of the HVAC water treatment program.

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Our company can help with the sampling and testing of these building water systems, documenting the perfomance of the water management plan, and evaluating the performance of your plans, as well as suggesting changes that may improve the management of Legionella risks. Our experience can help you develop a comprehensive water management plan, identify and mitigate risks, perform testing for plan performance varification and validation and give you the peace of mind that your building water systems are being managed effectively to minimize Legionella risk.