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Water
safety
Learn how we keep your water free from
legionella and what you can do to help
Legionella
Legionella is a type of bacteria found naturally in freshwater environments, like lakes and streams. It can be a health risk if it gets into your home’s water system because drinking or breathing in water droplets containing legionella can cause Legionnaires’ disease or Pontiac fever.
We carry out free legionella safety checks every year in all our blocks with shared water tanks.
What happens during a water safety check?
A specialist contractor will attend your home to measure the temperature of your hot and cold water in your boiler and at certain outlets, including your taps to ensure it is within safe levels.
Water samples are also taken to ensure that the quality of the water is maintained.
How to keep your home free from legionella
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Run all taps in your home for a few seconds every week.
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If you’ve been away on holiday or are taking up a new tenancy, run all taps at a gentle flow rate for two minutes. We appreciate you may be on a water meter, but this is an important safety measure that we recommend.
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Keep showerheads or any other fitting in a clean condition and try to prevent limescale build-up.
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Set your hot water temperatures to between 55°C and 60°C where possible. At 55°C any legionella bacteria in the water is killed. Hot water over 60°C can scald so take care when using hot water. If you think your water heater isn’t working properly please contact us.