Legionella duties, handled by firms that do nothing else
Water hygiene is where compliance quietly lapses. A risk assessment sits on a shelf, temperature monitoring drifts, and nobody notices until an outbreak, an HSE visit or a CQC inspection. The desk matches you to Legionella Control Association registered firms whose entire business is water systems.
Who is legally responsible
The duty holder, usually the employer, landlord or person in control of the premises, supported by a named Responsible Person for water safety. In healthcare and care settings this sits inside a formal water safety group with a written water safety plan.
What the regulations require
General duty of care to employees and anyone else affected by the undertaking.
Legionella bacteria are treated as a substance hazardous to health, requiring assessment and control.
The Approved Code of Practice for controlling legionella bacteria in water systems. Failure to follow it must be justified.
Technical guidance covering evaporative cooling systems, hot and cold water systems, and other risk systems.
The healthcare-specific standard for safe water in healthcare premises.
What the water panel covers
Legionella risk assessment
A full survey of the water system with schematic drawings, an asset register, identified risk points and a prioritised written scheme of control.
Legionella sampling and testing
Sampling to BS 7592 with analysis by a UKAS accredited laboratory, plus a defined escalation route when a positive result comes back.
Tank cleaning and chlorination
Cleaning, disinfection and chlorination of cold water storage tanks and calorifiers to ACOP L8, with before and after evidence.
Temperature monitoring and flushing
The routine control regime that actually prevents growth, delivered either as a managed service or as training and audit for your own team.
Accreditation the desk checks for
- Legionella Control Association registration, checked on the LCA register rather than taken on trust
- Risk assessment and remedial works priced separately
- Laboratory work sub-contracted to a UKAS accredited lab, named in the quote
- Schematics delivered as editable drawings you own, not locked in the contractor's portal
- Technicians named, with training records available
Where buildings usually come unstuck
Consequence: No defensible control scheme, and an immediate finding on any HSE or CQC visit
Fix: Commission a fresh assessment including drawings and a full asset register
Consequence: Gaps are treated as non-compliance regardless of actual water quality
Fix: Move to a digital log with exception reporting and a named accountable person
Consequence: The most common source of a positive sample
Fix: Remove redundant pipework, and put a documented flushing regime on what remains
Consequence: Delay while the organisation decides what to do, which is the dangerous part
Fix: Agree the escalation and resampling protocol in writing before you need it
Water Hygiene questions buyers actually ask
How often must a legionella risk assessment be reviewed?
ACOP L8 requires it to be reviewed regularly and specifically whenever there is reason to suspect it is no longer valid. Two years is the widely accepted maximum interval, but any change to the water system, its use, occupancy or the vulnerability of occupants triggers an earlier review.
Is legionella testing legally required?
Sampling is not automatically required. ACOP L8 requires it where the risk assessment indicates it, which in practice means most healthcare premises, care settings, cooling towers and systems where control parameters are not consistently met.
What temperatures should we be hitting?
Hot water should leave the calorifier at 60 degrees and reach sentinel outlets at 50 degrees within one minute, 55 degrees in healthcare. Cold water should be below 20 degrees at sentinel outlets within two minutes.
Who is the duty holder in a leased building?
It depends on the lease and on who has practical control of the water system. In multi-let buildings the landlord usually holds the duty for shared systems and tenants for their demise. Get it written down, because HSE will ask.
Can the desk help with a positive sample right now?
Yes. Flag it in the brief and we treat it as priority, matching to firms with remedial and disinfection capability rather than assessment-only providers.
Water Hygiene guides
Need water hygiene specialists?
Send one brief. Inside forty-eight hours you get three firms that have confirmed capacity and hold the accreditation for your exact scope, and we set up the introductions on your word.