Water safety

What do I need to know?

When it comes to water safety we all know the basics, things like always supervising children in the bath.  But when it comes to legionella and Legionnaires’ disease, we might not know how we can keep the water in our homes safe.

Legionnaires’ disease is caused by the legionella bacteria and is a potentially fatal form of pneumonia. The bacteria is found in the natural environment but can be found in artificial water systems too, such as storage tanks, pipework, taps and showers. It’s normally found in bigger systems rather than ones for individual homes, but it can be found in residential accommodation.

What you can do

There are steps you can take to reduce the risk of legionella and stop people in your home from getting poorly:

• If you have a shower that you don’t use often, turn it on every week and let the water run for a few minutes. Make sure you hold the shower head face down so it doesn’t spray near your mouth
• If you’ve been away from home for more than two weeks, run your taps and showers before using them

If your regular water temperatures are hotter or colder than usual, then please fill in our health and safety form. We’ll come and visit to see if there’s a problem.

What we do

All of our homes are inspected before you move in to make sure legionella isn’t found and so that you can be confident that you’re safe in your home. We’ve also got a risk assessment and management plan for homes where there’s a communal area, such as blocks of flats. The management plan includes things like a testing and cleaning regime.