Virginia the First to Mandate Water Management Program in Schools

Legionnaires’ Disease outbreaks in the United States have increased 967% since 2000. More and more people are being sickened by the Legionella bacterium through exposure to contaminated and untreated building water systems. As responsible educational stewards, facilities directors and school administrators want to protect the students, staff and visitors who occupy their buildings.

Headlines surround an increased number of outbreaks in schools across the United States. Legionella lurks in schools water supplies. Currently there are no national laws for school buildings to fight the presences of Legionella bacteria, but many states are taking important steps to keep students, teachers and educational staff safe from this harmful bacterium.

The state of Virginia has established an inspiring foundation on the road to keeping schools safe from Legionella bacteria. Virginia Bill, SB- 410 requires each school board to maintain a water management program for the prevention of Legionnaires' disease at each public school building in the local school division. The bill requires the Department of Education to make recommendations for the establishment, maintenance, and validation of water management programs in public school buildings and to notify each local school board of its recommendations no later than July 1, 2021, the date on which the provisions of the bill requiring school boards to maintain such water management program become effective.

Developing a water management program to combat waterborne pathogens is a multi-step process and requires continuous review. It is imperative that a certified Legionella water safety and management specialist helps you develop your schools’ water management plan.   The CDC points out seven key elements of a water management plan and program. These key elements are:

Once established, a water management plan and program require continuous monitoring for potential hazards. A water management plan is not just a document to create and shelve, but a plan that is a living document that requires consistent monitoring, maintenance to control risk-prone elements of a school water system. At IWC Innovations, we know from years of experience, the best way to validate your plan is to test your school building for Legionella. Testing your water system once a quarter determines the effectiveness of your water management plan and allows for corrective actions to take place in the areas that pose the highest risk to the development of waterborne bacteria.

IWC Innovations offers preventative, expert and cost-effective solutions to combat Legionella bacteria. Our water management plans and programs can be easily developed using our Smart Plan App™, the first of its kind and a seamless way to provide compliance, and mitigate risk. Our testing services are state-of-the art. IWC Innovations offers both ISO 11721:2017(E) culture testing as well as onsite q-PCR Legionella testing with results in less than an hour.

Find Out More About our Water Management Plans and Waterborne Testing Services.