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Business water risk assessment

The safety of your water systems must be taken as seriously as all the other health and safety aspects of your business. 

While your business is not legally required to undertake testing and risk assessments, Health & Safety regulations state that you must understand and manage the risks and keep accurate records. You can do this through a risk assessment for water.

You can carry out water hygiene risk assessment by contacting a professional water hygiene services company. Alternatively, if you run a small business, look out for legionella testing kits that will enable you to save money by taking your own water samples.

If you’d like to find out about our services, or if you’re interested in switching business water retailer, please contact us and speak to one of our advisors.

WATER MANAGEMENT SERVICES

We understand that no two businesses are the same. We’ll work with you to address the additional water management needs of your business, and provide proactive solutions including contingency planning, water efficiency audits, leak detection and repair, and automatic meter reading.

Risk assessment after closures

Premises that have been left vacant are therefore more likely to be at risk from legionella, and it is advisable to test the water for legionella and other contaminants before the building is occupied once more.  

If your premises need to close for any reason, it’s a good idea to visit once a week to run all the taps for a couple of minutes and flush the toilets to keep the system moving, making it less likely that the system will provide bacteria with the stagnant conditions they thrive in.

Why is legionella so dangerous?

If it is inhaled, the legionella bacterium has the potential to develop into Legionnaires’ disease. Legionnaires’ is a type of pneumonia that can be fatal, especially among elderly people and people with pre-existing medical conditions. This is why, under the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974, duty holders have a responsibility to comply with their legal responsibilities to control legionella bacteria in water systems.

What are the optimum conditions for legionella?

To be able to control legionella, it’s essential to understand the kind of conditions where it is likely to multiply and thrive. And that is in stagnant water that’s between 20C and 45C and has plentiful nutrients such as algae, scale, rust, and sediment. The bacteria can spread from water to the lungs via devices that produce tiny water droplets that can easily be inhaled, such as showers, spas, hoses, sprinklers, and water-based air conditioning units.