The Water Drop™: Episode 14

How Does Legionella Grow Within the Water System?

This week, we want to talk about how Legionella grows within the water system. Legionella comes into your building from the municipal water supply, so that's a really important thing to note is it's being pumped in by your water source. Once it gets into the building, there's a couple things that happen.

First, there's temperature that causes Legionella to grow. Legionella loves to live between 77 and 108 degrees, so if that environment does exist, Legionella bacteria can proliferate.
The second thing is sediment, and that gives the bacteria a food source and so it gives it something to feed on.

The third thing is stagnation. Water age is a big deal in the Legionella industry. When water is sitting there stagnating, it reduces the amount of disinfectant that's in the water and allows the Legionella bacteria to grow.

Legionella grows in biofilm on the inside of the pipes. It really embeds itself, creates many, many, many layers, and so over time you'll see layers of biofilm grow. Really once it gets into the building, it creates an environment for growth and that can provide colonization or that can create colonization. Biofilm on the inside of the pipes, Legionella growth is not an easy thing to get rid of and that's why prevention is so important.

IWC Innovations can help you avoid the growth of Legionella in your water systems!