Does Your Building Need a Legionella Water Management Program? Eight Questions

A water management program (WMP) can reduce the risk of Legionella bacteria growing and spreading in a building. This quick CDC worksheet, a supplement to its Legionella WMP toolkit, helps decide whether a building needs one.

The worksheet in CDC's Legionella water management toolkit. CDC.

Questions about the building

If you answer yes to any of these, the building needs a water management program for its hot and cold water system.

1. Is it a healthcare facility where patients stay overnight, or does it house or treat people with chronic or acute medical problems or weakened immune systems?
2. Does it mainly house people older than 65, such as a retirement home or assisted-living facility?
3. Does it have multiple housing units and a central hot water system, such as a hotel or high-rise apartment block?
4. Does it have more than 10 storeys, counting basements?

Questions about devices

Devices that can spread water droplets carrying Legionella need a water management program even if the building itself does not.

5. Does the building have a cooling tower?
6. Does it have a hot tub (spa) that is not drained between uses?
7. Does it have a decorative fountain?
8. Does it have a centrally installed mister, atomiser, air washer or humidifier?

A printable version is in the toolkit.

Homes

The toolkit's building standards do not apply to single-family homes or small multi-family homes such as duplexes, even if they have the devices in questions 6 to 8. Residents should still protect themselves from waterborne diseases and follow local and state guidance on household water; owners of those devices should follow the manufacturer's instructions for cleaning, disinfecting and maintenance.

More

• Toolkit: Controlling Legionella in common sources of exposure
• Training: Preventing Legionnaires' disease: a training on Legionella water management programs

Sources

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, "Identify Buildings with Increased Legionella Risk." https://www.cdc.gov/control-legionella/php/toolkit/wmp-worksheet.html