Water Treatment in a Time of Reopening

Ready or not, here we come! Water Treatment in a Time of Reopening

By: R. Trace Blackmore, Certified Water Technologist

Whether you live here in Atlanta, where I do, or another part of the world, we all share the experience of living through a pandemic.

One day we were all going to work as normal and then the world closed the next day. Who would have ever thought that could happen? As we all fully aware, there was no playbook for how to survive a pandemic. We made it up as we went along, using the best information we could find at the time. Lucky for us, there was some good information out there regarding building water systems.

As a water treatment professional, I get asked a lot about what building owners or managers should do when it comes to their water systems. During the pandemic, the frequency of those questions increased. The most repeated questions were: How do I maintain my building’s water systems during shutdown? How do I reopen my building’s water systems after shutdown? How do I maintain my building’s water systems with reduced water consumption? Well, that good information I mentioned before, that we were lucky to have, comes from agencies such as the EPA, CDC and the AWWA, and they have done a great job providing answers to all these questions.

While we were all sheltering-in-place, our building’s water systems were also sheltering-in-place. And that was not a good thing. In normal operation, the water in a building’s systems is allowed to be continuously renewed due to the system regularly being used. Just like many of us grew a bit around our midsections staying at home, the same thing happened to all the things growing in our building’s pipes. Things such as pseudomonas, acinetobacter, burholderia, stenotrophomonas, nontuberculosis mycobacteria and legionella. These guys have essentially been having a never-ending party in your building’s pipes. Now that we are all coming back to these buildings, is that a guest list you want to drink from? CDC, EPA and AWWA have all recommended taking proactive measures during a shutdown and before reopening. Flushing, along with maintaining the building’s hot water recirculating system at 140°F or more, as well as maintaining all of the building’s water systems was part of the proactive approach, ensuring the building’s water systems stayed as healthy as possible. However, some building owners and managers were even more proactive. In fact, they actually did have a playbook for what to do during a pandemic when it came to their building’s water systems. More and more buildings are adopting Water Management Plans (WMP’s.)

For building owners and managers with a WMP in effect, there was no guesswork of what to do. They simply followed the plan and performed it. My recommendation is that every building considers a complete WMP for their building so they can work the plan instead of reacting in the moment all the while second guessing yourself wondering if you reacted in the best way. A WMP addresses all the building’s water systems and identifies hazard points that could get people sick. A WMP also contains verification methods to validate how well the plan is working.

It is also important to mention that ASHRAE 188 - 2018, the standard for Legionella risk management in building systems, has been updated to ASHRAE 188 –2021. The document was updated to make it easier for it to be adopted as code. Here is what I take from that: If you don’t have a WMP, you need to get one because a law about having one is coming to your town sooner or later.

For those of you that feel like you are starting from scratch, please know that you do not have to. I have listed a treasure trove of resources at the end of this article that will help you maintain your building during a shutdown, reopen your building after a shutdown, and maintain your building during lower-than-normal occupancy. Know also that there are professionals out there, like myself, that can help you not only answer your questions, but know the right ones you should be asking.

Resources / References

•CDC Water Management Program

https://www.cdc.gov/legionella/wmp/index.html

•CDC Water Management Program Toolkit

https://www.cdc.gov/legionella/downloads/toolkit. pdf

•CDC Guidance for Reopening Buildings After Prolonged Shutdown and Reduced Operation

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/php/ building-water-system.html

•ASHRAE Guideline 12-2020 – Managing the Risk of Legionellosis Associated with Building Water Systems

https://www.techstreet.com/ashrae/standards/ guideline-12-2020-managing-the-risk-oflegionellosis-associated-with-building-watersystems?product_id=2111422

ASHRAE Standard 188 - 2021

https://www.techstreet.com/standards/ashrae188-2021?product_id=2229689

•EPA RTCR State Implementation Guidance

https://www.epa.gov/dwreginfo/total-coliform-rulecompliance-help-primacy-agencies

•EPA Checklist for Restoring Water Quality in Buildings for Reopening

https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2020-05/ documents/final_checklist_for_maintaining_ building_water_quality_5-6-2020.pdf Trace Blackmore has 20+ years of experience providing water treatment and consulting services to the: commercial, industrial and municipal markets. Trace started Blackmore Enterprises in 2003 with the goal to provide A Complete Water Treatment Program to customers and industry personnel. Over the past 11 years, Trace has served on various industry boards; been an expert witness for Legionella based law suits; served as a Certified Training Instructor for the Association of Water Technologist, Nation Safety Counsel and OSHA.

About the Author