Any individual who is responsible for operating cooling towers, HVAC systems, or the water schemes of a building should be sure to create and maintain a Legionella prevention plan. Legionella is a dangerous bacteria that can cause severe pneumonia and even death in humans, and it thrives in freshwater at water temperatures frequently used in the machinery that is common in many buildings. In order to keep people safe and ensure efficiency and longevity, a Legionella prevention plan is one of the best resources available.
What Is A Legionella Prevention Plan?
A Legionella prevention plan is a customized roadmap that offers guidance on how to prevent the establishment and proliferation of Legionella in a water system. It is typically crafted by a Legionella expert who can review your individual water systems and make personalized recommendations about problematic areas and how to reduce your risk. However, some parts of the strategy can be developed on your own, such as building a Legionella response team.
A Dedicated Team
One of the most important aspects of a Legionella prevention plan is the creation of a dedicated team whose job is to manage the work related to Legionella in a facility. This includes determining who is responsible for executing the prevention plan and conducting regular maintenance, as well as any supervisors involved and professionals to contact if Legionella is discovered or if an issue arises. Establishing this team before Legionella ever becomes a problem ensures that action can be taken quickly, before the bacteria proliferate uncontrolled.
Documentation Practices
Regular documentation is an important part of a Legionella prevention plan. Being able to show physical proof of maintenance, what was done, and when will health professionals piece together the potential risk in your system. It also enables you to stay abreast of when maintenance is due because the people responsible for managing Legionella risk always have documentation of the previous maintenance visit on hand that includes details on what occurred and what may still need to be attended to.
Monitoring Schedules
A Legionella prevention plan should also include a schedule for monitoring the system. The regularity of system checks will depend upon the complexity of the system and its unique features; large systems or those with many cooling towers may need to be monitored more frequently than simple, small systems attached to a single HVAC unit.
Diagrams And Descriptions
One of the most vital assets a Legionella prevention plan can provide is clear documentation of the water system in a building. Schematics and diagrams of all of the parts of a system will enable Legionella experts to assess risk comprehensively by identifying problematic legs or areas unique to your building that most pose a particular risk for Legionella growth.
Efficiency Checks
Regular evaluation of a system can inform your Legionella team about whether your prevention plan is working correctly and effectively. Sometimes, an unexpected problem can prevent an otherwise seemingly flawless Legionella prevention plan from fighting off the bacteria, so it is important to continue checking the effectiveness of the plan, even after it has been implemented.
Identification Of Problematic Areas
If a building contains areas that are known to be problematic, such as pipes that leak or equipment that breaks down frequently, these should be noted down in a Legionella prevention plan to ensure that outside contaminants are not entering the water system through these weaknesses. Additionally, the schematics included in the plan can offer insight into dead legs where water does not flow and Legionella can grow unabated.
Intervention Plans
One of the most important features of a Legionella plan is its intervention strategies. Developing a quick and thorough approach to Legionella before it becomes an issue will allow your team to act immediately and quash the problem before it grows. This will save you money, time, and protect the health and safety of others. Within the intervention plan should also be a list of trusted experts so that you do not have to spend time during an emergency locating someone to help.
Work With The Legionella Prevention Experts
Whether you need assistance with an already existing Legionella problem or you would simply like to develop a robust Legionella prevention plan for your building, one critical piece of the process is locating trustworthy experts who can analyze your system and respond to the emergence of Legionella. The professionals at Tower Water have years of experience conquering Legionella and would be happy to assist you in developing a robust long-term plan for water treatment based upon the unique facets of your systems. Reach out to schedule an appointment to meet the team.