Pinellas County Utilities advises customers to flush shutdown water systems

Pinellas County Utilities is advising customers to follow recently issued U.S. Center for Disease Control (CDC) guidance when opening or reinstating the use of interior water systems in buildings or facilities that were shut down due to Safer at Home orders. Water in shutdown or low occupancy buildings will stagnate and can be unsafe for use. Water stagnation can lead to bacterial growth in internal plumbing systems.

The CDC materials can be accessed at Toolkit: Developing a Water Management Program to Reduce Legionella Growth and Spread in Buildings.

It is recommended that building owners and facility maintenance providers take measures to reduce the degradation of water quality, including flushing of building water systems (e.g., cold, hot, mechanical systems, etc.) once the COVID-19 stay-at-home order ends.

Recommissioning guidance for building water safety is discussed in a recent study headed by Purdue University’s Center for Plumbing Safety and can be viewed at https://engineering.purdue.edu/PlumbingSafety/covid19/faq-building-water-safety.

Customers with questions should contact the Pinellas County Utilities Customer Services Department by email at custsrv@pinellascounty.org, or by calling the department at (727) 464-4000.