Water Matters for Safety




Danger lurks in idle water.
By Jack Lyon, Innovational Water Solutions.

Let's face it. We don't think of the water in our buildings as being dangerous. You drink it. You use it for your coffee. The sinks work. And any water that your heating, cooling or manufacturing systems needs comes out of the pipe and goes into the system. As long as it runs, all is well. But it's not. Water can be dangerous. Especially when it's been idle. 
The CDC guidelines for idle buildings during Covid-19 paint a scary picture. The top two issues that can make building occupants sick are Mold and Legionella. Added to the list  of safety hazards are respiratory issues, which are particularly frightening if occupants contract Covid-19 with it's known effects on the lungs. Just as dangerous is mechanical failure due to corrosion, scaling and fouling, all caused by water, and all posing significant risk to your technicians, building occupants and even your surrounding community. 

Ok, so idle water is dangerous. Good to know. Now what?

Step 1: assess your risk. As we open up our country and recover from Covid-19 (This too shall pass!) people and techs will be back in your buildings. The only way to know if the are safe is to have a professional look at your systems and the danger they may pose. Shutting back down because of mold, Legionella or a system failure will only set you back. Assess your risk so you can get open, and stay open. Any provider you choose, including us, should offer Risk Assessments for your facility, Secondary Disinfection to treat water as it comes into your building and Disinfection for equipment and potable water systems that have not been in use, or that are found to have Legionella.


Step 2: Learn! MNTAP is a massive reservoir of information on water in Minnesota. MnTAP is an outreach program within the University of Minnesota School of Public Health that acts as the headwaters for Minnesota businesses. MNTAP works to redefine the role of business and industry in caring for and conserving water. Education, technology and business join forces via MNTAP to think critically about water stewardship and how to protect water for business use, communities and local ecosystems that depend on clean water. Here you'll find questions and answers about water management you didn't even knew existed. EPA Regulatory information, water conservation resources and more. 


Step 3. Talk to other manufacturers about water. The MPMA (Minnesota Precision Manufacturers Association) is the aggregation point for Manufacturers in the Twin Cities Metro Area. You can also find other manufacturers in Minnesota via the CMMA, serving outstate and rural Minnesota. Learning from other manufacturers is one of the best ways to figure out your risk and safety hazards before they show up. 

How do I know if we have an issue?

In other words, they don’t have to assume the worst or be in the dark and not be safe.  They can talk to us and we can easily and quickly evaluate, test and let them know if they have any risk at all or not and what to do if so.  

If the only thing we've accomplished with this blog is raising awareness of the dangers water can cause, we call that a win. By sharing what we know we're helping businesses keep their people safe, cut maintenance costs and conserve water. We hope you learned something new here. If you'd like to discuss water safety with any group behind Water Matters, contact any of the resources below.

At Innovational Water Solutions contact Jack Lyon.

jackl@iwatergroup-us.com763-208-6506

At MNTAP contact Michelle Gage

mcgage@umn.edu. 

At MPMA contact Steve Kalina

steve@mpma.com. 


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