What is legionella testing?
Legionella testing identifies the existence of Legionella bacteria often found in water systems which can pose a risk to the public.
How frequently should you test for Legionella?
Property managers, landlords, and those people who look after commercial premises should arrange to test as often as the Water Hygiene Risk Assessment dictates. Guidance on how often to test does vary, however, we recommend six-monthly checks on cold water inlets.
Testing guidance from the Health & Safety Executive
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has indicated several situations whereby testing should be completed;
- Where the legionella control regime in place to treat a hot and cold water system is suspected to be inefficient
- Where ideal temperatures are not always obtained – hot water should be kept hot, and cold water cold
- Where there is doubt over concentrations of disinfectant in the system that could indicate a lack of control
- Where the situation is deemed high-risk for some other reason
Water Risk and Legionella legislation
The ACoP L8 “The Control of Legionella Bacteria in Water Systems” and The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 are in place to ensure property managers comply with the strict requirements to keep water systems safe. This includes having regular Water Hygiene Risk Assessments completed on all workplace buildings where there is a foreseeable risk of exposure to Legionella bacteria.
Types of buildings that require legionella testing
- Hotels
- Gyms
- Leisure clubs
- Retail buildings
- Offices
- Hospitals
- GP surgeries
- Commercial and private offices
- Warehouses
- Factories
Outsource your Legionella testing
To keep the water safe in the building you look after we recommend you instruct a water hygiene company who is a member of the Legionella Control Association to conduct a legionella risk assessment and subsequent legionella testing.