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Review
. 2020 Jul-Aug;2(4):e1186.
doi: 10.1002/aws2.1186. Epub 2020 Aug 6.

Considerations for large building water quality after extended stagnation

Caitlin R Proctor  1 , William J Rhoads  2 , Tim Keane  3 , Maryam Salehi  4 , Kerry Hamilton  5 , Kelsey J Pieper  6 , David M Cwiertny  7   8   9 , Michele Prévost  10 , Andrew J Whelton  11
Affiliations
Review

Considerations for large building water quality after extended stagnation

Caitlin R Proctor et al. AWWA Water Sci. 2020 Jul-Aug.

Abstract

The unprecedented number of building closures related to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic is concerning because water stagnation will occur in many buildings that do not have water management plans in place. Stagnant water can have chemical and microbiological contaminants that pose potential health risks to occupants. Health officials, building owners, utilities, and other entities are rapidly developing guidance to address this issue, but the scope, applicability, and details included in the guidance vary widely. To provide a primer of large building water system preventative and remedial strategies, peer-reviewed, government, industry, and nonprofit literature relevant to water stagnation and decontamination practices for plumbing was synthesized. Preventative practices to help avoid the need for recommissioning (e.g., routine flushing) and specific actions, challenges, and limitations associated with recommissioning were identified and characterized. Considerations for worker and occupant safety were also indicated. The intended audience of this work includes organizations developing guidance.

Keywords: COVID‐19; SARS; SARS‐CoV‐2; advisory; building; coronavirus; customer; disaster; disinfection; flushing; health risk; plumbing; recommissioning; stagnation; water quality.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Potential chemical and microbial water quality impacts associated with prolonged stagnation in chlorine (Cl2) and chloramine‐based (NH2Cl) disinfectant drinking water systems
Figure 2
Figure 2
Building plumbing schematic. Top: what occupants can see; Option 1: Traditional trunk‐and‐branch; Option 2: trunk‐and‐branch with headers for every flow; Option 3: trunk‐and‐branch with multiple risers
Figure 3
Figure 3
Considerations for recommissioning guidance in six major categories: recommissioning necessity, informing occupants, system integrity, flushing considerations, disinfection considerations, and readiness of water for use. 1ASHRAE 188 is an adoptable standard focused on Legionella contamination and is the only guidance regarding length of closure that may prompt the recommendation for recommissioning actions; it may not apply to all contaminants discussed; 2multifamily residential, >10 stories tall, healthcare facility, patient stays >24 hr, housing or treating immunocompromised individuals, housing >65‐year‐old occupants
Figure 4
Figure 4
Example variation in the length of an actual service line from water main to an actual building water system
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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    1. American Water Works Association . (2002). Effects of water age on distribution system water quality background and disclaimer. Retrieved from http://www.epa.gov/safewater/disinfection/tcr/regulation_revisions.html

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