A Potential Covid-19 Fallout: Is Legionella Lurking in Your Facilities’ Water Supply? - By Vik Bangia

Thousands of Corporate Real Estate and Facilities Management leaders are currently busy writing plans to re-open their company’s facilities and get their people back to the office. The overwhelming focus of those plans is mitigating the risk of Covid-19 for returning employees. That is as it should be. To my mind, the 5 main priorities in a company’s reopening plan should be safety, wellness, hygiene, remote work policies, and financial and operational considerations.

However, an unintended consequence of Covid-19 is an elevated risk of Legionella in the water supply. This is a direct result of building systems remaining idle. When facilities are operating normally, water is constantly flowing through the pipes and this continuous flow allows for treatment of waterborne pathogens at the source – typically where the municipal water supply originates for that facility. When a building is shut down, as many have been since the pandemic hit, the water stops flowing. This is not a matter of a few toilets and sinks, this is a matter of the entire water circulatory system: boilers, chillers, irrigation, washing stations, restrooms, etc. If you think about it, the water flow and usage in major campus facility or office tower is quite staggering. 

Now imagine this water has been at a literal standstill since March or April. Stagnant water allows bacteria to proliferate and thus, a direct and potentially consequential and deadly outcome of Covid can be Legionella in the water supply. And it is rather unfortunate that the steps being taken to reduce the risk of transmitting Covid in many companies’ reopening plans may in fact be overlooking this important issue. Legionella is far deadlier than Covid. Some studies estimate a 10% mortality rate for those that contract Legionnaires Disease and adults over the age of 50 are most at risk. 

Most corporate employers I’ve spoken with have been focusing their safety measures for Covid on cleaning and disinfection, wayfinding, security, visitors, mental health, portfolio optimization, and social distancing. This leaves an obvious gap in addressing and managing the risks around waterborne pathogens like legionella. I strongly believe Facilities Managers should take a pause, review the CDC guidelines, and look to implement water management plans for all “at risk” water systems. Ironically, the CDC had to close its own facilities earlier this year for Legionella according to this CNN article:

I spoke with my colleague Dan Siegler with Nalco Water, an Ecolab Company based in Naperville, IL. Nalco is a supplier of water, energy and air improvement solutions and services for industrial and institutional markets. Dan has a master’s degree in Industrial Hygiene Safety and is AVP of Global Accounts with more than 23 years in the water treatment industry. According to Dan, addressing the legionella risk in domestic water should be a part of every company’s corporate re-occupancy plans. “Those responsible for planning and executing return-to-work plans are focused on how to independently validate their cleaning procedures to establish the level of confidence in their occupants to return safely to their workplace.”, he said. “That planning takes weeks, often months. Failure to address Legionella risks can derail the best laid plans.”

Whether you currently outsource your Facility Management or self-perform these activities, these issues should be top of mind as you prepare your re-occupancy plans. A number of specialized water treatment facility service providers can provide support on a mitigation strategy from testing for legionella to profiling the risks at each of your facilities prior to re-opening or it can be part of a larger IFM approach. Either way, water management must be included in your reopening plans to address the Legionella which may be lurking in your water supply.

Vik Bangia is CEO of Verum Consulting, a Corporate Real Estate Strategy & Operations consulting practice based in Minneapolis Minnesota and service clients worldwide. Learn more at www.verumconsulting.com

Guest commentator Dan Siegler of Nalco Water can be contacted at: [email protected]