At EAI, we are dedicated to being your trusted total water solutions provider. We don’t just offer cutting-edge water treatment technologies—we strive to educate customers on critical water quality issues to support smarter, proactive decision-making. Helping you navigate the latest Legionella compliance regulations is one way we go above and beyond as a water treatment partner.

Legionella bacteria can colonize water systems like cooling towers, posing major health risks if inhaled via contaminated aerosols. Outbreaks have led to pneumonia, hospitalization, and even death. Facilities must comply with regulations and guidelines around Legionella testing, monitoring, documentation, and corrective actions. Compliance helps minimize contamination risks and protect public health.

Facilities found non-compliant with Legionella regulations face two major risks—harm to human health and legal liability. Past outbreaks linked to non-compliant cooling towers and water systems have led to multiple deaths along with civil lawsuits and penalties. Beyond the ethical imperative to prevent illness, the legal and financial consequences provide further incentive for facility staff and companies to maintain strict compliance. Facility managers must make Legionella control and compliance a top priority.

This article will dive into how to maintain compliance with legionella regulations and standards.

What are the current regulations and standards for Legionella control in cooling towers?

There is no single overarching federal regulation governing Legionella compliance. Instead, facilities must navigate a complex and ever-evolving patchwork of guidelines and legal requirements at the state, local, and industry levels. This regulatory landscape warrants close examination in order to achieve full compliance.

ASHRAE Standard 188

ASHRAE Standard 188-2021 provides widely recognized consensus-based minimum Legionella risk management procedures for building water systems. While technically voluntary, many government directives cite Standard 188 as an authoritative standard.

1. Purpose and Scope: Outlines minimum risk management requirements for systems deemed at-risk for Legionella growth and spread, like cooling towers, decorative fountains, hot tubs, humidifiers, and potable hot water systems. Covers hazard analysis, routine verification, monitoring requirements, corrective actions, and documentation.
2. Key Requirements: Mandates creation of a multi-disciplinary water management team to prevent or control Legionella. Requires development and ongoing updating of a site-specific water management plan. The plan must incorporate analysis of risk factors, prevention measures, monitoring procedures, corrective actions, documentation, assessments, and communication strategies.

New Jersey Legislation

The state of New Jersey has recently passed two bills addressing the issue. The laws apply to public water systems and certain private building operators, and requires them to establish water management programs to mitigate the growth of Legionella bacteria.

New Jersey Senate Bill 2188 – Legionnaires’ Disease Prevention and Control

Key Provisions:

1. Water Systems Maintenance:

○ Public water systems with more than 100 service connections must maintain minimum disinfectant residuals (0.3 mg/L for free chlorine or 1.0 mg/L for monochloramine).

○ Systems must implement best practices for pathogen control, including regular flushing, tank maintenance, and monitoring low-pressure areas prone to biofilm formation.

2. Reporting & Compliance:

○ Systems must report disruptions (e.g., changes in water treatment processes, pressure drops, or repairs) within 72 hours to the DEP, which will maintain a public database of these records.

○ The DOH is responsible for investigating all reported cases of Legionnaires’ disease, including testing water fixtures at locations frequented by affected individuals.

3. Water Management Programs:

○ High-risk buildings, including hospitals, nursing homes, and buildings with cooling towers, are required to implement water management programs compliant with ASHRAE Standard 188-2018 to prevent Legionella growth.

○ Periodic testing for Legionella Pneumophila must be conducted as part of the water management programs.

4. Penalties:

○ Penalties of up to $10,000 can be imposed for violations that result in harm or death, with fines scaling based on severity and repeat offenses.

New Jersey Assembly Bill 1970 – Legionnaires’ Disease Prevention and Control in Public Water Systems and Buildings

This bill has similar provisions to S2188 with a few key differences. First A1970 specifies a timeline for DOH to create a public dashboard with de-identified data on Legionnaires’ cases. This dashboard requirement is unique to A1970. It also requires DEP to create a data management system to log and provide public access to the reports of disruptions. This is a stronger emphasis in A1970 compared to S2188.

New York Legionella Compliance

All owners of cooling towers in New York State are required to register, maintain, sample, disinfect and notify local health departments and the public of elevated levels of Legionella. Additionally, the City of New York also requires building owners to register with the city and the health department also regularly inspects cooling towers.

CDC Guidelines for Healthcare Facilities

The CDC publishes extensive, in-depth Legionella prevention documents tailored to healthcare sites. These stressed the ethical and legal necessity for vigilant prevention in protecting vulnerable patient populations. Guidelines focus on the need for development and execution of water management plans, water sampling protocols, swift and thorough remediation strategies, stringent post-remediation verification testing, and ongoing environmental surveillance.

How do legionella regulations differ between regions?

Legionella legislation scope, stringency, and specifics vary widely at state and local levels. While around half of US states have at least nominal regulations in place, content ranges from non-binding public health reporting guidelines to expansive, compulsory regulatory schemes. Enforcement also fluctuates dramatically across jurisdictions. Facilities located across multiple states face the added challenge of navigating different state rules.

Facilities must carefully determine and continually evaluate all applicable federal, state, local, and industry-specific Legionella regulations based on their geographic location, services offered, equipment operated, and other factors. Gaining and maintaining full compliance requires intimate knowledge of this complex, shifting web of requirements.

Compliance Best Practices

Achieving ongoing Legionella regulatory compliance involves implementing organizational habits and protocols—not just one-time efforts. By making smart compliance an operational priority, facilities can help fulfill ethical duties and legal obligations to protect occupants against risks from waterborne pathogen exposure.

Regular Monitoring & Testing

Compliant monitoring via periodic testing allows facilities to catch issues early, triggering timely corrective actions to nip outbreaks before they start. Guidelines recommend structured routine testing every 2 weeks to quarterly depending on system risk assessments. Testing frequency and locations should derive from the analysis of an organization’s water management plan. Carefully interpreting results is crucial as well.

EAI’s Director of Business Development Ryan Vargas emphasized, “Some places might do testing quarterly, while others (such as data centers) might test on a monthly basis and have very aggressive levels at which they would disinfect their units.”

Documentation & Record-Keeping

Thorough documentation provides proof of compliance during regulatory audits and investigations while also driving accountability among staff. Best practices dictate maintaining detailed logs covering areas like test results, equipment maintenance, disinfections, procedural reviews, and corrective actions related to water management plan execution.

Training & Awareness

Comprehensive training and demonstrated competency ensures staff thoroughly and consistently execute water management plans. Additionally, cultivating a culture with organization-wide awareness and transparency around Legionella prevention sustains engagement in meeting compliance targets. Updates as regulations evolve also help maintain current understanding.

Baked-in compliance promotion through monitoring, documentation, transparency, and competency development allows facilities to meet Legionella regulations while also fulfilling ethical imperatives around occupant safety.

Addressing Non-Compliance Issues

Despite best efforts, Legionella compliance lapses still occur. Effectively responding to violations limits damage. Open communication and quick corrective actions are key.

Developing A Water Management Plan

Failing to plan, is preparing to fail. A water management plan (WMP) can help diagnose issues and prevent the spread of waterborne pathogens. The WMP is a core tenant of EAI’s approach to legionella management. Develop a water management plan prior to doing any testing that could create a compliance violation.

What to Do After a Compliance Violation

If facing a non-compliance citation, facilities should first acknowledge the issue and pledge cooperation with authorities. Additionally, immediately review related water management plans, documentation, and safety protocols to identify breakdowns. Again, promptly launch corrective measures like hazard mitigation, increased testing/monitoring, or equipment adjustments while communicating these good faith efforts to regulators. Resolving gaps transparently and rapidly demonstrates accountability critical for avoiding harsh penalties.

Developing a Corrective Action Plan

In tandem with prompt tactical fixes, develop and commit to implementing a formal corrective action plan for closing compliance gaps long-term. If a violation stemmed from a cooling tower pathogen spike, for example, the plan may detail increased biocide treatments, documentation process changes, added staff training activities, and timelines for recurring audits. Track and report progress to authorities per existing notification agreements.

Only by acknowledging, quickly correcting, and transparently improving compliance program weaknesses will facilities satisfy regulators while protecting occupants. An above-board, solution-focused posture is essential for overcoming Legionella oversight lapses. Embedding diligent Legionella oversight and response capacities allows facilities to meet regulatory and community expectations while sustaining safer and more responsible operations.

EAI’s Total Water approach combines innovative specialty chemical treatment, high-performance softening and filtration systems, and advanced oxidation disinfectants to provide customers superior water management and sustainable savings. Our experienced water treatment experts are on site routinely to become deeply familiar with the complexity of your operations and develop a custom water treatment strategy that improves water quality while optimizing performance. With EAI as your partner, you gain peace of mind that your water systems will meet the most stringent and evolving Legionella regulations while protecting public health. Contact us today to learn more about our compliance support services.