Water hygiene and safety

Water quality and safety are key to the health and welfare of building and facility users. The risks to people and the impact on operations resulting from poor water hygiene or quality can be very serious.

To keep users safe, and ensure compliance with current HSE guidance, water hygiene and safety management is essential to control bacteria. Legionella risk assessment is most people’s first port of call, but there are other pathogens to consider, including Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Good water hygiene always starts with a risk assessment to identify and evaluate if your water system is at risk from bacteria and is compliant with the relevant regulations and industry standards.

Airmec Essential Services has extensive experience providing water hygiene services to help organisations manage these risks. We ensure that effective and practical management plans are put in place.

As members of the Legionella Control Association, we are committed to best practice in Legionella compliance and keeping water safe and minimising the risk of disease caused by poorly maintained systems.

Our water safety specialists have the highest security clearances, so we can work in restricted and sensitive areas for governmental, military, educational, industrial, life science and healthcare clients.

Find out more about how we can help below:

Water hygiene services ACoP L8 compliance

Our services

Legionella and water safety risk assessments

Water hygiene monitoring services

Water sampling and analysis

System cleans and disinfections

Water treatment services

Remedial works

Water safety consultancy and training

It is a legal duty to carry out a water safety risk assessment. Our Legionella water risk assessors can help you to develop a working risk assessment, to determine an appropriate preventive maintenance and monitoring regime for your water systems.

As part of the risk assessment, we will review the entire water system, track it from start to finish, log all assets and test the water temperature for each outlet. Following an assessment, we will outline control measures to ensure effective water hygiene and any improvements needed to the system and monitoring regime to ensure ACOP L8 compliance.

Airmec provides a range of sampling services for both general surveillance and specific requirements for high-risk systems, or where normal control measures are insufficient.

All water testing samples are collected using aseptic methods and analysed at independent UKAS-accredited laboratories. Following receipt of the sample analysis we provide advice on the next steps where samples reveal positive results.

For non-healthcare facilities we will typically test for the presence of legionella, e coli and coliforms – all samples are collected in accordance with the requirements of BS7592:2008

Pseudomonas control: For healthcare facilities, we will additionally test for the presence of Pseudomonas, and samples are collected in accordance with the requirements of HTM04-01.

The key to water hygiene is an effective management control plan and regular monitoring. Airmec is one of the UK’s longest-established water hygiene companies. Our safety specialists can provide a comprehensive range of water monitoring services to assist you with your water system monitoring and management control measures. The services we can provide include:
- Hot and cold water system temperature checks
- Cold water storage tank inspections
- Calorifier and hot water cylinder inspections
- Shower inspections, cleans and disinfections
- TMV servicing
- Water softener checks and disinfections
- Inspection and maintenance of biocide dosing systems

As part of a building’s water management programme, it may be necessary to undertake a clean and disinfection of its cold water storage tanks or disinfect the hot and cold water systems.

Our disinfection services include:
- Cold water storage tank cleans and disinfection
- Hot and cold water service disinfections
- Local outlet disinfections
All disinfections are undertaken in accordance with the requirements of BSI PD 855468:2015 – Guide to the flushing and disinfection of services supplying water for domestic use within buildings and their curtilages. Following disinfection, we will undertake water sampling to prove the effectiveness of the work.

To improve the efficiency, stop corrosion or prevent contamination within a closed loop system our water specialists can provide extensive water treatment services. All our procedures follow BSRIA guidelines.

Our services include:
- System analysis and sampling to detect the presence of harmful contamination including:
  - Suspended and settled solids and metals
  - Dissolved solids
  - Microbiological activity
  - Dissolved oxygen
- Flushing systems to remove contamination
- Dosing systems with appropriate inhibitors and biocides
- Implementation of an ongoing monitoring and control programme
All closed system monitoring and treatment work is undertaken in accordance with the guidelines of BSRIA document BG50 – Water treatment for closed heating and cooling systems.

Our qualified tecnicians and water specialists can undertake the remedial work identified in a Legionella and water safety risk assessment of your hot and cold water system.
- Removal of dead legs and blind ends
- TMV removal
- Replacement of cold water storage tanks
- Refurbishment and relining of cold water storage tanks
- Removal of cold water storage tanks and mains conversions
- Replacement of flexible hoses
- System redesign and upgrades
We will work with you to outline the scope of the work to help you comply to HSE’s Approved Code of Practice L8 for the control of Legionella Bacteria in Water Systems.

Legionella training is essential for anyone involved in the control of Legionella in hot and cold water systems. We provide a range of courses from basic awareness outlining how to undertake monitoring and maintenance tasks and risk assessments, to training those appointed as the Responsible Person.

Our courses are in-person, classroom-style interactive presentations designed for a maximum of ten people and include a certificate of completion upon successfully passing an assessment. Our courses are accredited by the regulators of England and Wales (Ofqual and the Welsh Government) and are part of the Qualifications and Credit Framework (QCF).

Please call us to discuss your specific Legionella training requirements.