Successful Completion of National Water Hygiene Scheme.
Course Summary
The National Water Hygiene scheme has been developed at the request of Water UK, the body representing the water supply companies across England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. Scottish Water DOMS the Distribution Operations Manual (DOMS) is used by Scottish Water, the publicly owned company responsible for providing water and wastewater services across Scotland.
Blue National Water hygiene and White Scottish DOMS cards
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FAQs
Which systems present the greatest risk?
Cooling towers, evaporative condensers and hot and cold water systems have been associated with outbreaks. Other potential sources where precautions might be needed include humidifiers and spa baths.
If you decide that the risks are insignificant, your assessment is complete. You need take no further action other than to review the assessment periodically in case anything changes in your system.
What are my duties under law?
Under general health and safety law, you have to consider the risks from legionella that may affect your staff or members of the public and take suitable precautions.
As an employer or a person in control of the premises, you must:
* identify and assess sources of risk;
* prepare a scheme (or course of action) for preventing or controlling the risk;
* implement and manage the scheme ? appointing a person to be managerially responsible, sometimes referred to as * the ?responsible person’;
* keep records and check that what has been done is effective;
* if appropriate, notify the local authority that you have a cooling tower(s) on site (see ?Other duties’).
If a person working under your control and direction is treated as self-employed for tax and national insurance purposes, they may nevertheless be your employee for health and safety purposes. You may need therefore to take appropriate action to protect them.
If you do not wish to employ workers on this basis, you should seek legal advice. Ultimately each case can only be decided on its own merits by a court of law.
Where are legionella bacteria found?
Legionella bacteria are common in natural water courses such as rivers and ponds. Since legionella are widespread in the environment, they may contaminate and grow in other water systems such as cooling towers and hot and cold water services.
They survive low temperatures and thrive at temperatures between 20-45?C if the conditions are right, eg if a supply of nutrients is present such as rust, sludge, scale, algae and other bacteria. They are killed by high temperatures.
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