Washington State Senate Urged to Heed Scientists’ Concerns About Legionnaires’ Disease Prior to Vote on Plumbing Standards

Scientists hypothesize a connection between low flow rates and
outbreaks of waterborne diseases such as Legionnaires’ disease, warns
Plumbing Manufacturers International

OLYMPIA, Wash.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–#FlowRates—Plumbing
Manufacturers International (PMI) – an association of companies that
make water-efficient toilets, showerheads, faucets and urinals and
advocate for safe plumbing – has expressed concerns to state legislators
that proposed legislation, ESHB
2327, to ratchet down flow rates below federal WaterSense
levels without proper research may result in unintended consequences
that could endanger public health. A vote on the measure may come as
early as this week in the Washington State Senate.

“Products earning the EPA’s WaterSense label have been certified to be
20 percent more water efficient than the federal standards while meeting
high performance and safety standards,” said Kerry Stackpole, PMI
CEO/executive director. “Going below the WaterSense levels, as proposed
in Washington state, may cause product performance issues, as well as
public health risks.” Scientists have hypothesized that there may be a
link between low flow rates and outbreaks of waterborne disease,
including Legionnaires’ disease, he stated.

PMI is urging legislators to further study the impact of reduced flow
rates on state drinking water, wastewater and recycled water
infrastructures, and to gain input from drinking water and wastewater
utilities in the state, Stackpole said. PMI has published educational
content about Legionella, the bacteria that causes Legionnaires’
disease.

Washington’s flow rates are now in line with federal regulations. The
proposed legislation would reduce them to the WaterSense level for
toilets and below WaterSense levels and equal to California levels for
urinals, showerheads, and bathroom faucets. California is the only state
with plumbing standards more stringent than WaterSense levels, having
implemented them in response to the state’s drought emergency.

EPA funding two studies measuring potential link between low flow
rates and waterborne disease

PMI cited two research projects that the EPA is funding to measure the
potential impact between low flow rates and waterborne disease outbreaks
and other water quality problems. The first with Drexel University is
titled “Water Conservation and Water Quality: Understanding the Impacts
of New Technologies and New Operational Strategies.” The second, with
Purdue, Michigan State and San Jose State, is titled “Right Sizing
Tomorrow’s Water Systems for Efficiency, Sustainability, and Public
Health.”

As indicated during a recent EPA
webinar, both projects hypothesize that low flow rates have
contributed to waterborne disease outbreaks and other water quality
problems in building plumbing systems.

The most common waterborne disease is Legionnaires’ disease. The Center
for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported about 6,000 cases of
Legionnaires’ disease in 2015, with reported cases steadily on the rise
over the past several years. About one in 10 cases of Legionnaires’
disease results in death. Washington state saw 72 cases of Legionnaires’
disease in 2016, resulting in 10 deaths, according to a report in the
Seattle Times. The Washington State Department of Health has published surveillance
and reporting guidelines for waterborne disease outbreaks.

PMI contends that experts in the field of waterborne pathogens,
including Dr. Marc Edwards, a Virginia Tech professor who was among the
first to recognize the Flint lead-in-water crisis, have recognized a
possible correlation between low water flows and increases in outbreaks
of waterborne diseases such as Legionnaires’ disease.

Low flow rates increase water age and may contribute to
disinfectant depletion and biofilm growth

Low flow rates result in increased water aging in distribution and
plumbing systems. Low flows increase the transit time between the point
of treatment at the water utility and the moment the water is used or
consumed. An EPA study, “Technologies
for Legionella Control in Premise Plumbing Systems: Scientific
Literature Review,” showed that this increased time spent in a
plumbing system can dissipate disinfection agents and foster the growth
of biofilms that amplify the growth of opportunistic pathogens in
plumbing systems.

PMI also referenced a white
paper, “Adapting to Change: Utility Systems and Declining Flows,”
published in November 2017, authored by organizations including
WaterReuse California, Water Research Foundation and Association of
California Water Agencies. The paper examined the impacts of reduced
indoor water usage in California on drinking water, wastewater and
recycled water infrastructures due to Governor Jerry Brown’s emergency
conservation mandate to address the recent drought. One of the policy
recommendations of the white paper is that a state or jurisdiction
should consider the impact on its utility infrastructure before lowering
the water consumption levels of plumbing products below current levels.

The potential impacts on infrastructures identified within the white
paper include:

• On page 4 for water distribution systems: “With declining water system
  flows, drinking water has a longer residence time in pipes, leading to
  chemical, biological, and physical water quality issues and
  potentially compromising public health and compliance with the Safe
  Drinking Water Act, particularly for disinfection by-products,
  coliform bacteria, chlorine residual, and lead and copper action
  levels.”
• On page 4 for wastewater conveyance systems: “Declining system flows
  decrease wastewater flows and may increase pollutant and solids
  concentrations, which increase blockages, odors, and corrosion in
  pipes. This leads to increases in operation and maintenance costs,
  odor complaints, and an accelerated degradation of infrastructure.”
• On page 5 for wastewater treatment plant operations: “Declining flows
  change the characteristics of wastewater, including the quantity and
  quality of wastewater treatment plant influent, causing impacts and
  stressing treatment processes as salinity, ammonia, and biochemical
  oxygen demand concentrations increase beyond design specifications.”
• On page 5 for recycled water projects, “Declining flows can alter
  treatment and cost-effectiveness of recycled-water infrastructure by
  altering factors considered in system design, like anticipated flow
  and water quality.”

About Plumbing Manufacturers International

Plumbing Manufacturers International is the voluntary, not-for-profit
international industry association of manufacturers of plumbing
products, serving as the Voice of the Plumbing Industry. Member
companies produce 90 percent of the United States’ plumbing products. As
part of its mission, PMI advocates for plumbing product performance and
innovation contributing to water efficiency and savings, sustainability,
public health and safety, and consumer satisfaction. PMI’s members are
industry leaders in producing safe, reliable and innovative
water-efficient plumbing technologies. PMI members manufacture
water-efficient toilets, urinals, faucets, and showerheads in more than
25 states and that are sold in home improvement stores, hardware stores
and showrooms. For more information on PMI or its conferences, contact
the organization at 1921 Rohlwing Road, Unit G, Rolling Meadows, IL,
60008; tel.: 847-481-5500; fax: 847-481-5501. www.safeplumbing.org.

Contacts

Plumbing Manufacturers International
Ray Valek
708-352-8695
[email protected]