FROM: Paul Commins

Management of Legionella - Summer Holiday Precautions

While schools are shut during the Summer holidays, there is a serious risk of growth of the Legionella bacteria within hot and cold water systems.

To prevent this, premises closing over the Summer holiday should take the following actions:

At the end of the school holiday, before any water is used for for the first time for any purpose, switch the hot water system on and allow water temperature to reach 60 degrees C. Keep water temperature at that temperature for at least 1 hour. This will kill off the bacteria.

After it has been held for 1 hour all hot water services must be flushed through thoroughly

All cold water services must also be flushed through thoroughly to ensure that all bacteria is flushed out

Special care must be taken when flushing showers, as they must be flushed so that no aerosol is formed

Any school/PRU that is not able to achieve a hot water temperature of 60 degrees C due to the scald risk to pupils must flush through the hot and cold water services thoroughly so that cold water is below 20 degrees C and hot water has been flushed through at each outlet for at least 5 minutes.

For schools in the Building Maintenance Scheme (BMPP) or non schools maintained by NPS, technical advice on this point can be obtained from Steve Graveling at NPS Property Consultants Ltd on 01603 223313.