Start Up Recommendations Before Occupying Due to COVID-19

Tower Water cares about our clients and wants to assist you in preparation for occupation of their building or systems. We have gotten the opinion of a well known expert to share their guidelines with us for your benefit. Below is a quick summary of what should be completed if you have been in stagnant or near stagnant conditions during this unprecedented timeframe of Covid-19.

Areas to Flush

Flush all water – To bring disinfectant from city water into the building
How long – Depends on how long it takes for a serious water temperature change or chlorine test (> 50*F for 1 minute and/or the presence of chlorine as tested by strip test or DPD method) Contact 800-669-9636 to order test strips ($39 for 50)

Domestic Cold Water

• Bathrooms toilets, sinks, showers – Also, Remove and Clean Shower heads and aerators- (use 1 to 10
  ratio of bleach to water soak for at least 30 min)
• Drinking fountains – Also, Remove and replace filters
• Spot heaters and coffee makers
• Ice machines – throw away at least 3 days’ worth of ice
• Kitchen areas, Cafeterias
• Outdoor/indoor hose bibs
• Safety eyewash, safety showers

Domestic Hot Water

Drain, Flush, and Refill hot water storage tanks and heaters
Turn heaters up to 150*F follow same flushing procedure (Chlorine will not be present) check temperature at fixtures and look for 135*F or better and run water for 1 minute (Turn down water heater to normal when flushing is completed)

• Bathrooms toilets, sinks, showers – Remove and Clean Shower heads and aerators (same as
  above)
• Dishwashers operate on high temp – one cycle
• Kitchen areas, Cafeterias

Decorative Fountains and Water Walls

• Clean, Disinfect and Inspect (Maintenance)

Cooling Towers and Fluid Coolers

• Clean, Disinfect and Inspect (using DOH Guidelines)

Pools/Spas

• Clean and Disinfect Maintenance

This summary does not supersede the attached guidelines, it is a simple sheet that you can provide to your staff to begin the process and check off that you have flushed and cleaned all of the areas of concern and followed best practices.

The following guidance is recommended by Cyrus Rice Consultants, Inc.

Guidance for Starting of Stagnant Building Water Systems

Because of COVID-19 many of our buildings have either been shut down or left empty for at least 4 weeks and maybe more, while some of the buildings have had lower staff population and therefore the building have used less water. Either way, with talk of restarting occupancy and to help ensure the safety of your building water system and devices after a prolonged shutdown or low water usage we offer the following guideline.

Stagnant, or standing water can cause several conditions in your domestic water systems (cold and hot water) that can increase the risk for someone to get sick from drinking or using your water in your building.

• First, the growth and spread of Legionella and other biofilm-associated bacteria can occur. (Legionnaires Disease is well known but other bacteria can also cause disease.) When water is stagnant, hot water temperatures can decrease to the growth range of most bacteria. (77–108°F, 25 42°C). Stagnant water can also lead to low or undetectable levels of disinfectant, such as chlorine. To proactively protect that your water system is safe to use, after a prolonged shutdown, to minimize the risk of Legionnaires’ disease and other diseases associated with water, certain procedures must be followed.
• Lead and Copper can be an issue in that most buildings and facilities built before 1995. Most of these buildings have copper pipes with lead solder in them. Since water is the universal solvent, in stagnant water will gradually dissolve and leach out lead and copper from the pipe walls. Thus, people drinking the water would then be exposed to unknown amounts of lead and copper.

9 Steps to Take Before Your Business or Building Reoccupies

Please Note: These are general recommendations and every building and sequence can be different, we suggest you contact your Consultant or Water treatment Professional to discuss your specific building.

1. Ensure your domestic hot water heater is working properly, that it has been maintained and the temperature is correctly set. (Someone may have set the temperature lower because no one was going to be in the building. This for some is a utility savings.)
2. Determine if your manufacturer recommends draining the water heater or hot water storage tank after a prolonged period of disuse. Ensure that all maintenance activities are carried out according to the manufacturer’s instructions or by professionals. Note: Cyrus Rice recommends that the hot water heater be turned off and flushed to remove sediment because this is where the bacteria will grow.
   • Make sure that your hot water heater temperature is set to at least 120°F
   • Higher temperatures can further reduce the risk of Legionella and bacteria growth, but ensure that you
     take measures to prevent scalding if your hot water heater is set to >130°F.
3. Flush your water system
   • Flush hot and cold water through all points of use (e.g., showers, sink faucets, custodial sinks, lavatories,
     kitchen areas and outdoor faucets)
     • Flushing may need to occur in segments (e.g., floors or individual rooms) due to facility size and water pressure. The purpose of building flushing is to replace all water inside building piping with fresh water and to make sure municipal levels of chlorine are brought back into the building or facility from the municipality
     • Flush until the hot water reaches its maximum temperature at the tap and keep flushing for 1 minute
     • Clean showerheads and clean all faucet aerators after flushing
4. Flush and clean all ice machines and all drinking water fountains. Change filters if there are any. These systems can grow bacteria.
5. Clean all decorative water features, such as decorative fountains or water walls
   • Be sure to follow any recommended manufacturer guidelines for cleaning
   • Ensure that decorative water features are free of visible slime or biofilm
   • After the water feature has been re-filled, measure disinfectant levels to ensure that the water is safe
     for use. (Consult your water treatment company or pool expert for assistance.)
6. Ensure hot tubs/spas and pools are safe for use
   • Check for existing guidelines from your local or state regulatory agency before use or discuss with your pool service company on how you should operate.
   • Ensure that hot tubs/spas and pools are free of visible slime or biofilm before filling with water
   • Perform a hot tub/spa/pool disinfection procedure before use
7. Ensure cooling towers are clean and well-maintained
   • Ensure that cooling towers are maintained (including start-up and shut-down procedures) per manufactures guidelines and industry best practices – If your water treatment company is going to start up, make sure the protocol is to add extra sanitizing biocide before start-up and to conduct a sanitization. (Contact your Water Treatment Company)
   • Ensure that the tower and basin are free of visible slime or biofilm before use
8. Ensure safety equipment including eye wash stations, and safety showers are clean and well-maintained
   • Regularly flush, clean, and disinfect these systems according to manufacturers’ specifications.
9. Maintain your water system
   • Consider contacting your local water utility to learn about any recent disruptions during the stagnation period in the water supply. This could include working with the local water utility to ensure that standard checkpoints near the building or at the meter to the building have recently been checked or request that disinfectant residual entering the building meets expected standards. You should measure your free chlorine at the incoming source to the facility
   • After your water system has returned to normal, ensure that the risk of Legionella growth is minimized by regularly checking water quality parameters such as temperature, pH, and disinfectant levels or have your water treatment company check. Additional Legionella samples could be taken if you are concerned, however make sure you know how to remediate should a problem exist
   • Also have your Water tested for lead and copper before occupancy

Note: If Legionella bacteria levels are elevated in your system you may have to consider a sanitization of the facilities water system prior to occupancy.

Lastly, Cyrus Rice recommends that you consider developing a comprehensive water management program (WMP) for all your water systems and all devices that use water. The CDC also recommends it. Guidance to help with this process is available from the CDC, or have a professional write a program for you. At present a WMP is not required by law except for any facility except Healthcare facilities and elderly care facilities.

For assistance, please see the reference below:

The Water Management Program Toolkit from the CDC is designed to help people understand which buildings and devices need a Legionella water management program to reduce the risk of Legionnaires’ disease, what makes a good program, and how to develop it.