Industries
Hospitality and Leisure
Outstanding guest experiences, standards of hygiene and intelligent water management for hospitality and leisure operators.
Leisure centres and spas have a legal duty to ensure the health and safety of their customers. The Health & Safety Executive requires leisure centre and spa managers to undertake regular cleaning and maintenance of buildings, plant and equipment, as well as regular assessments that will protect staff and users against a range of hazards.
When it comes to the legionella bacteria, special care must be taken with humidity and recirculated air because of the dangers from stagnant water. While pool water and air conditioning systems are obvious concerns, shower facilities also need to be carefully monitored. In July this year, for example, a Kent leisure centre found traces of the bacteria in its showers which had to be closed for cleaning.
Expert Knowledge
We Can Help With:
- Water safety
- Water features
- Cooling water systems
- Air hygiene handling
- Closed loops
- Guest experience
- Pool & spa engineering support, asset management, control and operation
- Domestic water distribution and pipes
- Water heating and steam
- Legionella control and training
When and how often do I need a legionella risk assessment?
Under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and in compliance with the Approved Code of Practice (ACoP L8, HSG 274), duty holders, including employers and those in control of premises, must ensure the health and safety of their employees or others who may be affected by their undertaking, this includes the risk of legionella. Legionnaires Disease is a form of pneumonia, which can be fatal and the main route of infection is through inhalation, by inhaling airborne water droplets that contain Legionella. This also applies if you are a private Landlord and have rental properties which are occupied.
This includes legionella awareness, taking suitable precautions to prevent, manage and control the risk of exposure to legionella. You can do this by undertaking the following: legionella awareness training, a risk assessment, actioning all identified risks within the initial report with remedial works, sampling the water quality to confirm bacterial presence with water testing, and carrying out ongoing record keeping also known as monitoring.
Testing for Legionella
Legionella testing and water analysis is the process of taking a water sample, in a sterilised bottle (with sodium thiosulphate) for a true reading, before sending the water sample onto our UKAS accredited laboratory for quick analysis and fast results. The laboratory will identify the presence or absence of Legionella in the water sample collected, along with the bacterial count and Legionella species present. It is important to bear in mind that for accurate results, the water samples must be taken at the right points within the water system and you need to know where to take those Legionella samples from. This means understanding your water system’s design and risk areas. You should also only ever use one sterilised bottle per outlet to avoid mixing samples from two different points. If you are not sure what to do to meet your legal requirements, then contact us today for specialist Legionella testing guidance. The purpose of testing water samples is to mitigate the risk of Legionnaires’ disease which is a result of the Legionella bacteria growing in the water system and can be fatal so should be taken seriously.
Hospitality and leisure water management
As water management experts for the leisure and hospitality sector working right across the UK and Republic of Ireland, we enhance guest satisfaction, lower operating costs, disinfect and purify water and enable water-re-use and demonstrable compliance.