What is a Legionella Risk Assessment Template?

A Legionella risk assessment is a tool used by landlords, employers, and property managers to identify Legionella-related risk factors in a property, workplace, or facility and to control the risks of Legionnaires’ disease, a pneumonia-like illness caused by Legionella.

Why Use Legionella Risk Assessment Templates?

To help save time, others opt to use templates instead for their Legionella risk assessments. Legionella risk assessment templates aim to guide assessors in performing thorough inspections of water systems and prevent the growth of Legionella bacteria, which can cause serious harm or fatality from Legionnaires’ disease.

What to Include in the Template

There are many ways to create a Do-It-Yourself (DIY) legionella risk assessment form, though most forms have the following common items:

• List of water-related hardware installed such as showers, sink faucets, and the like

• Data on water temperature, as well as water cooling and heating systems and their tune ups

• Disinfection steps

• Description of the pipework in place

• People most at risk for contracting Legionnaires

Top 3 Legionella-related Risk Factors and How to Control Them

In Michigan,Flint’s water crisis spawned one of the largest outbreaks of Legionnaires’ disease in U.S. history. Here are the most common factors that make a facility more susceptible to Legionella bacteria and how landlords, employers, and property managers can effectively control them:

1. Redundant Piping or Dead Legs

Dead legs are stagnant or rarely used pipes in a system, which can become breeding grounds for Legionella bacteria. To prevent this, regularly survey and update the full schematic diagram of the hot and cold water system. Include water flow details, a water treatment program, and a written plan for Legionella control.

2. Infected Cold Water Storage Tanks

Another condition for legionella to rapidly multiply is the lack of residual disinfectants like chlorine in cold water storage tanks. Routine cleaning and disinfection of cooling towers and the hot and cold water system should take place at least once every six months.

3. Lukewarm Water Temperature

The temperature of hot and cold tap water should remain 50 degrees Celsius (122°F) or above and 20 degrees Celsius (68°F) or below, respectively, while the water temperature inside the boiler should be kept at or above 60 degrees Celsius (140°F). Legionella exponentially grows in warm water temperatures, ranging from 25-42 degrees Celsius (77°-108°F). Proactively guard the premises against Legionnaires’ disease by installing temperature sensors.