Water Management Plan and Water Safety Plans are the best tool for building owners and operators to use against Legionella bacteria and Legionnaires’ Disease. Infection control personnel and Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) professionals must understand how to incorporate water safety into their facility’s risk management processes.
The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) developed a standard, 188-2021 – Legionellosis: Risk Management for Building Water Systems. This voluntary standard outlines the requirements for developing WMP’s, how risk assessments are performed, along with healthcare-specific requirements.
A Water Management Plan (WMP) is a crucial living document that outlines proactive maintenance activities, unique building risks, and corrective actions necessary when parameters fall out of specification. These plans can range from simple to comprehensive, provided they incorporate all elements of ASHRAE 188-2021. Importantly, a WMP also serves as a repository for all water safety-specific documentation and maintenance records, offering legal protection in the event of litigation related to Legionnaires’ disease. A valid WMP could be your best defense against claims of negligence.
Water Safety and Management Plans must include several key elements as required by ASHRAE 188-2021:
This team is responsible for overseeing your building’s water safety.
These diagrams illustrate the potable and non-potable water systems monitored as part of the water safety program.
This involves conducting a formal risk assessment for each water system.
These are the limits (e.g., temperature, pH) that must be maintained for each system.
This section details all preventive maintenance activities (PM) required to verify that control limits are maintained, along with specific corrective actions for the maintenance team if limits are not in range.
This ongoing process ensures that the plan is executed as designed, often involving a documentation audit.
This process confirms that maintenance activities have been effective, typically through regular testing for Legionella bacteria or other waterborne pathogens.
This section establishes how and where documentation will be available for auditors and how communication with the Program Team will be handled.
ASHRAE 188-2021 specifies that the Program Team must include individuals with authority and responsibility for water safety actions. Recommended personnel include:
Other professionals you might include:
If you need a certified Legionella consultant on your team, Contact ChemREADY today!
ASHRAE 188-2021 identifies the following building characteristics as requiring a Water Management Plan:
Relevant systems include:
Your building’s Water Safety and Management Plan should be defensible, easy, and smart. ChemREADY partners with HC Info to provide LAMPS: Legionella Assessment and Management Plan Support. LAMPS offers built-in audit functionality, easy plan updates, and a cloud-based solution for all your documentation.
If your Water Safety and Management Plan isn’t on the LAMPS platform, contact ChemREADY today to discuss how LAMPS can benefit your Program Team.
A Water Management Plan is a living document that outlines proactive maintenance activities, risks, and corrective actions for building water systems, ensuring compliance with ASHRAE 188-2021 standards.
A Water Management Plan helps protect against Legionella outbreaks and serves as legal documentation to defend against negligence claims in the event of Legionnaires’ disease litigation.
The team should include building owners, facility managers, water treatment account managers, and other relevant professionals like infection prevention specialists or environmental health and safety officers.
Buildings with centralized water-heater systems, those over 10 stories high, healthcare facilities, and buildings housing occupants over 65 years old should have a Water Management Plan.
ASHRAE 188-2021 requires plans to include elements such as a Water Safety and Management Program Team, risk assessments, control measures, monitoring, and verification processes.
