Legionella Compliance for a Government Department
Introduction
Hydro-X were awarded a prestigious account with a central government department after one of our many satisfied customers had made them aware of our company and how we can assist with water hygiene compliance. The building they occupied had various domestic Hot and Cold Water systems that needed to be checked and maintained.
The Challenge
In the midst of the pandemic, when a significant amount of people were working from home and offices were not in regular use, we were called to this site as there were concerns regarding the legionella control. This became a widespread problem for a lot of buildings during this time because offices were either at reduced capacity or closed altogether it meant that the water was stagnant and became a breeding ground for legionella.
Once we had conducted sampling of the water systems to discover the extent of the legionella colonisation, we found that there was a systemic issue ranging in species and levels. The graphs at the bottom show the initial problem we encountered.
After we established the scale of the issue, we had numerous discussions with the client and carried out more remediation including a risk assessment review, physical remedials, and a number of local and system disinfections.
The Solution
Throughout this process it became increasingly apparent that these remediations on their own were not going to be enough to solve such a widespread problem within this particularly complex water system.
During our discussions with the site contact, we mentioned that our HydroSafe Chlorine Dioxide generator had been effective as a primary method of control when attempting to reduce the spread and then eliminating any legionella occurrences in other sites we had previously been involved with.
Once we explained how the HydroSafe system worked and the key benefits of it, the site were convinced that this would be the best solution. Once the unit had been installed and commissioned, the unit was responsible for treating the domestic hot and cold water services as well as the tanked drinking water system.
To help reduce the presence of legionella in their water system, we produced an implementation plan which involved monthly level checks by our account managers and flushing the system twice a week, with one being conducted by Hydro-X engineers and the other by someone on site
Value added
The client was delighted with the progress we had made in such a short space of time. Once the HydroSafe system had been installed and the additional flushing program was in place, we began to see a significant reduction in the amount of legionella positives each time we returned to take samples. Based on the reductions we are seeing we are expecting to see a full set of clear samples within the coming months.
Due to the improvement of these systems as a result of our work within the building, our client is now able to allow staff back within this workplace. Should full capacity be reached at this site, the client can also expect to see an almost immediate cost saving as the flushing will no longer be needed on such a regular basis given the flow of water will increase as the occupancy of the building increases.
