Legionella Found in Courthouse's Water System

4/30/2025

Plumbing system maintenance in institutional and commercial facilities tends to focus on water conservation through inspection, testing and maintenance to detect and fix leaks. But in some cases, maintenance and engineering managers and their teams also must pay close attention to water quality and the growing threat posed by deadly bacteria — Legionella. 

The Cuyahoga County Justice Center’s water system was disinfected recently due to the detection of bacteria that causes Legionnaires’ disease, according to Cleveland.com. Legionella bacteria was found during regularly scheduled water system tests conducted on March 19, and the presence of Legionella bacteria was confirmed on March 31, the county said. 

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The affected areas share a water system, while other areas of the complex use a separate water system and are not affected. The levels of water-borne Legionella bacteria detected in the Justice Center water system are low and very unlikely to cause illness, the county said, adding the water is safe to drink. 

The county said workers immediately shut off the water sources where Legionella bacteria was detected, installed a filtration system to remove bacteria and flushed the water system. Further testing to confirm that the bacteria has been removed has been scheduled, the county said. The disinfectant used will not contaminate the water and is safe, odorless and tasteless. 

Dan Hounsell is senior editor for the facilities market. He has more than 30 years of experience writing about facilities maintenance, engineering and management.?