Midlands Legionella Control recently conducted an injection mains chlorination at a nursing home in Birmingham to eliminate potential risks of Legionella bacteria in the water system.
The nursing home had a single incoming mains, which fed into 2 x cold water storage tanks, a calorifier / water heater with pumped return and the site had 18 mixer showers, which were fed by the cold water storage tanks and calorifier. Due to the nature of the nursing home, it’s residents and even some of it’s staff are considered to be high risk and vulnerable to legionella bacteria, and it is, therefore, of particular importance to ensure that the water system was free from Legionella bacteria, which can cause Legionnaires’ disease, a potentially fatal form of pneumonia and also that the design of the system ensured that the risk of growth was as low as possible.
In terms of legionella risk, the 2 x cold water storage tanks and the calorifier are of particular concern as they feed 18 mixer showers providing showers for the residents of the nursing home. Legionnaires’ disease is contracted when vulnerable persons inhale water spores containing the legionella bacteria, from an outlet such as a shower. Cold water storage tanks are of particular concern as they store large amounts of water and can be susceptible to legionella growth through poor turnover, stagnation, contamination, poor design and lack of monitoring.
Both cold water storage tanks were inspected 6-monthly and sampled to UKAS certification annually (in accordance with their legionella risk assessment) and upon the most recent inspection, both tanks were found to contain medium levels of sediment on the base and medium scaling around their ball-valves and although sampling returned satisfactory results, it was decided to clean and disinfect both tanks and all associated water services, in order to remove the sediment and scale – both of which are sources of nutrients for the legionella bacteria – and to ensure the internal surfaces of all pipework, calorifier and water services are also treated.
Midlands Legionella Control had previously conducted the most recent legionella risk assessment of the water system and identified potential sources of Legionella bacteria. They then recommended a chlorination treatment to disinfect the system and eliminate the risk of bacterial growth whenever unsatisfactory findings were returned from the samples or six-monthly inspection.
The treatment involved draining and cleaning both cold-water storage tanks, flushing the entire water system with chlorine, and then allowing the chlorine to remain in the system for a specific period to ensure that all bacteria were eliminated. Finally, the system was flushed again to remove any remaining traces of chlorine down to a safe level.
The entire process was carried out in a safe and controlled manner, with minimal disruption to the nursing home’s operations. Furthermore, we were able to carry out the works at night to ensure residents were in bed and would not be disrupted during any breaks in water supply. Midlands Legionella Control provided clear instructions on how to manage the water system after the treatment to prevent any future bacterial growth.
Following the chlorination treatment, the nursing home’s water system was sampled using UKAS water sampling and full certification provided. The nursing home’s management team was pleased with the work carried out by Midlands Legionella Control and praised their professionalism and expertise.
Overall, the chlorination treatment conducted by Midlands Legionella Control provided peace of mind to the nursing home’s residents and staff, ensuring that the water system was safe and free from harmful bacteria.
