Helpful information about reopening your facilities


I know we all have heard all about how we need to be cleaning and disinfecting our community facilities before they open. The one thing that I have not heard or thought about is the water sitting inside the pipes for the last 2 months or so.

I received this useful information from NVBIA and Loudoun Water.

Loudoun Water: Loudoun Water is providing guidance related to reopening buildings after a prolonged shutdown. Building managers should be sure to flush the pipes in order to ensure optimal water quality. When buildings and businesses are closed for an extended period of time (e.g. one week or more) a thorough flushing process is needed to move out water that may have been sitting stagnant inside the building's plumbing. Stagnant water, for even as little as two days, can lead to low or undetectable levels of disinfectant, such as chlorine. This water can become unsafe to drink or otherwise use for personal or commercial purposes. Proper flushing can restore chlorine levels and ensure water quality for the premises. Building owners, building managers, and businesses should take steps to flush the building's plumbing before reopening.

Ensure that your water system is safe to use after a prolonged shutdown by conducting a flush of your commercial or residential property's internal plumbing. Flushing instructions will vary depending on the size and complexity of the structure and its plumbing. Owners of commercial and residential properties are encouraged to follow the guidance below when reoccupying a building. 

For more information, visit the resources below to learn more about building water system flushing. 
·     CDC Guidance for Reopening Buildings After Prolonged Shutdown or Reduced Operation
·     EPA's  Restoring Water Quality in Buildings for Reopening Checklist
·     American Water Works Association's Return to Service Guidance 
·     Environmental Science Policy & Research Institute's Building Water Quality and Coronavirus 
·     The Water Research Foundation's Flushing Guidance for Premise Plumbing 

This information is also available on their website: www.loudounwater.org/flushing-guidance-buildings-after-prolonged-shutdown

Chris Goodman

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Helpful websites - UPDATED AS WE RECEIVE MORE

This page will be updated with additional resources and websites as people suggest them in the comments or otherwise.  Executive orders are being issued in the local jurisdictions and laws are being passed in Congress regularly as a result of the pandemic and my firm is trying to keep up with them and get updates to clients.  Our website is open to all and below is a link to the same for your reference. Check back regularly for addition websites https://reesbroome.com/news CAI websites have a ton of information as well and below are the links to the National website and local chapter websites for your quick reference:                              https://www.caionline.org/Pages/Coronavirus.aspx https://www.caidc.org/ https://sevacai.memberclicks.net/ IREM has a great resource page with additional links https://www.iremmd.org/covid-19-updates-and-resources PMA also has a resource page https://www.pma-dc.org/coronavirus-covid-19-resource-center/ U
Read more

Careful What You Wish For - Guest blog post

All: We are super thrilled to share this guest blog post from Elizabeth Kirk, Marketing Directors for TRC Engineering.  Please give us your comments and feedback and perhaps we will see Elizabeth posting here as a regular contributor!! Careful What You Wish For For weeks I would tell anyone who would listen, what I really need is time at home without any distractions—none: no traveling to meetings; visiting clients; association events or anything that makes me leave my house.   I certainly don’t want to eat out anymore – ARGGHHH.   I mean NOTHING for about two weeks that’s all I was asking for in order to grab my crazy life by the horns and get all my ducks in a row personally and professionally.   Two weeks at home with no distractions – none, not even the kids.   I typically work from home and I have a nice set up in the basement; it’s usually very quiet (except when a passerby gets the attention of a dog, then of course the other two dogs have to chime in).   My
Read more

Staying Connected...Virtually

 As the third week of working remotely draws to a close, I am starting to feel the pains of not having the in person interactions that I am used to.  As a vendor and business partner in the Property Management Industry, my days used to be spent at association events, committee meetings, lunches, happy hours, etc.  I had endless opportunities to stay connected to my clients and friends in person on a regular basis.  Things sure have changed in a short period of time. Last week, as week 2 of no in person interaction began, it started to hit me that it could be months before our industry could interact in person again.  I have to be honest and say that I panicked a bit.  I rely on these relationships on more than just a business level and I know I'd be lost without them. I started seeing social media posts about people holding virtual meetings to stay connected and "see" each other.  Several were even being held as a happy hour.  What a great idea!  Who doesn't love a
Read more