Water Safety

There are several water-borne bacteria / diseases, but the most well known as Legionnaires' disease (legionella) which is a potentially fatal form of pneumonia, caused by infected water droplets / mist.  This disease can affect anybody, but mainly affects those who are more vulnerable because of age, illness, immunosuppression or smoking.  It can be present in stagnant water taps or unused pipework, water tanks and shower heads.  Breathing in small droplets of contaminated water is how legionella bacteria infect your lungs.

The Association does the following to keep you safe:

• Carry out cyclical water inspections to communal water tanks where required.
• When properties become empty we clean and disinfect shower hoses and shower heads.  We also replace shower curtains (if fitted) prior to a property being allocated.
• The cold water supply to all our properties is provided directly from the mains and therefore no cold water is stored within tanks.  This means that the chance of legionella is kept to a minimum.
• The hot water supply to most of our properties is supplied through high efficient combi boiler that do not require water to be stored.  This means that the chance of legionella is kept to a minimum.

What you can do to keep yourself safe:

• Ensure you run water through all your taps and shower heads regularly.  Do not allow water to stagnate.
• Unscrew your shower head and hose regularly and immerse these in disinfectant for a couple of minutes.
• If you are away from home for more that 48 hours, upon your return, run all taps and water outlets at a high temperature for at least 2 minutes.
• When you get back from a longer holiday or break, you should run water through all your taps and shower heads for at least 5 minutes and immerse your shower head in disinfectant for 10 minutes.
• Inform the Association immediately if there are problems, debris or discolouration in the water, or a suspected or confirmed diagnoses of contracting an infection from legionella