Building owners are responsible for putting proper safeguards in place to protect their water systems against harmful bacteria like Legionella, the bacteria that can cause a potentially fatal form of pneumonia called Legionnaires’ disease. The health risks and liabilities associated with Legionella, along with new regulations and standards, make it critical for building owners to have an expert partner like Clarity Water Technologies. Clarity has over 20 years of experience preventing and remediating Legionella and other water-borne pathogens in cooling tower systems and potable water piping.
Undertreated water systems have the potential to breed Legionella and other harmful bacteria. That’s why Clarity offers a full range of services designed to minimize your risks and liabilities associated with Legionella in your facility. These services include:
Risk Assessments & Surveys
Water Management Plan Guidance
Legionella Education & On-Site Seminars
Legionella Water Testing (including 36-hour turnaround sampling)
Point of Use Legionella Filters for Faucets & Showers
Emergency Cooling Tower & Potable Water Disinfections
Short-Term & Long-Term Potable Water Disinfection Systems Utilizing Monochloramine Technology
Figure 1. Crude incidence rates of reported confirmed cases of Legionnaires’ disease by year—NNDSS United States, 2000–2019.
Clarity will provide emergency response services if your facility encounters a Legionella outbreak. *
Our service team will visit your site to evaluate your facility’s water systems and, if necessary, sanitize the affected systems. This may include emergency cooling tower and potable water disinfection. Our trained team members have successfully performed countless hot and cold potable water disinfections on hospitals, long-term care facilities, commercial office buildings, and hotels, sometimes within 12 hours’ notice.
* Remediation services not available in all states
If you are currently experiencing an outbreak situation or if one of your systems has tested positive for Legionella, please contact us immediately at 888-616-3545.
For applications that require continuous potable water disinfection to prevent Legionella and other water borne pathogens, Clarity has partnered with Sanipur to provide state-of-the-art monochloramine generation.
Monochloramine has become the gold standard for control and remediation of Legionella and other waterborne pathogens, providing a number of advantages over other disinfecting technologies such as chlorine (CL2), chlorine dioxide (CLO2), and Copper Silver (Cu/Ag).
Due to its chemical composition, monochloramine is more stable than other disinfectants. It maintains its characteristics and properties in hot water, whereas chlorine and chlorine dioxide degrade much faster. Monochloramine is a drinking water disinfectant and there is no maximum contaminant level (MCL) associated with it. It is also non-corrosive, not dependent on pH, and penetrates biofilm better than free chlorine.
Clarity’s Legionella prevention experts will custom-design the solution for your facility!
Our turnkey services make it easy!
We have the best water treatment consultants in the industry!
Our experts will manage your chemistry and monitor your system to ensure everything is running properly.
A nursing home contacted Clarity after encountering a case of Legionnaires’ disease. An initial round of testing had 58% of samples come back positive for Legionella bacteria. See the results after Clarity installed SANIKILL® monochloramine generators to disinfect the potable water.
Legionella is the bacteria that causes Legionnaires’ Disease, a potentially fatal form of pneumonia. It lives and grows naturally in water and soil. In buildings, it thrives in warm water systems like cooling towers, decorative fountains, hot tubs, whirlpools, and hot potable water systems.
Legionella was first discovered in 1976 after an outbreak among people who became ill after an American Legion convention held in a hotel in Philadelphia. The people who were affected suffered from a type of severe pneumonia (lung infection) that eventually became known as Legionnaires’ Disease.
Legionnaires’ Disease is still a very big concern today. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there are approximately 5,000 cases of Legionnaires’ disease reported in the United States each year. It is estimated that one out of every 10 people who get sick from Legionnaires’ Disease will die. During the summer of 2015, New York City had its worst outbreak in recorded history in which 16 people died and 133 people were sickened. New York City alleges that the source of the outbreak was an infected cooling tower located in the South Bronx. In reaction to this tragedy, New York City and State have passed some of the most comprehensive cooling tower maintenance legislation in the United States.
A Legionella outbreak could be potentially catastrophic in facilities that are occupied by people with compromised, underdeveloped or suppressed immune systems – the very young, the elderly and those who may already be ill. This means that hospitals and elder care facilities should be extremely vigilant about mitigating the risks associated with Legionella because those facilities are most at risk; however, any facility that has a warm water system that is used by or is in close proximity to people should have a plan for minimizing Legionella. This includes hotels, schools, office buildings, large apartment complexes and manufacturing facilities. For these groups, being proactive and having a plan is the first step in Legionella prevention.
If you are currently experiencing an outbreak situation or if one of your systems has tested positive for Legionella, please contact us immediately at 888-616-3545.
Clarity Water Technologies is the leading industrial and commercial water treatment company, providing expert consulting and cutting-edge chemistry for your facility’s heating, cooling, potable and process applications.
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