Water Management Plans are hard work done by busy people. It is tempting to think of a plan as a final product. Unfortunately, no plan is perfect. A WMP should be updated annually and in response to new developments.
Things change outside a facility and inside. Municipal water supplies can be fouled or changed. Floods and droughts can affect water quality. Local construction can dislodge bacteria. Facilities are regularly renovated, added to and mothballed. Protecting the domestic water supply is an on-going project.
Some useful questions to ask are:
- What happens if one person contracts Legionnaires’ Disease in the building? What if two people do, and the CDC is notified?
- What actions should be taken immediately?
- Which high-risk areas would you protect using POU filtration if and when a problem was discovered?
Keeping your WMP current helps you maintain readiness. A current plan means that if an emergency occurs, you can respond rationally and methodically instead of re-actively and haphazardly. That is especially important once a state health department comes into the picture. A current plan gives you the freedom to discuss action plans instead of simply reacting to requests.
Consider both system-wide and targeted measures to address an outbreak or discovery of high levels of waterborne pathogens. Hot water and chemical flushes work system-wide but take time. Point of Use Filtration works immediately down to individual faucets, shower heads and Ice Machines. It can be deployed at the location of initial infection or high-risk areas and provide immediate protection.
Here are a few reference sites worth referring to when it comes to writing Water Management Plans:
