Schools find health risks in water after COVID-19 lockdowns.....

[PopsnTuff]

A number of schools found the bacteria that causes Legionnaire’s disease in their water, and experts say more should expect to see it.

The new coronavirus is not the only illness that teachers, students, parents and staff will have to worry about as some schools attempt to reopen this fall. Legionella could lurk in the water supplies of school buildings, and some measures to keep people in schools safe from the coronavirus may even increase risks from deadly illnesses caused by the bacteria.

Last week in Ohio, officials found Legionella at five schools in an assortment of towns. On Friday, a district in Pennsylvania also announced it had found Legionella at four of its schools.....read on for more.....

https://www.boston.com/news/health/2020/08/27/schools-water-legionella

(N.Y. Times had the same article but wouldn't open for me.....this is not good at all for any schools opened )

 

[Sunny]

If it's due to the water being stagnant, it seems to me that the problem is a relatively minor one. Just keep flushing the water pipes, several times a week if necessary.

Once I had a bad odor coming out of my (unused) guest bathroom. I reported it to building management, and was told it was due to nobody running the water in that bathtub for a long time (months). All I had to do was turn the water on and keep it going for about 10 minutes. The problem went away immediately.

May be the same thing.

 

[Don M.]

Around here, all the drinking fountains have been shut down for months....ever since this virus became an issue. If you want to stay "hydrated" you have to carry some bottled water when you go to the stores, etc. Even the schools are supplying bottled water to the youngsters as they begin to go back to class.

If/when things return to more normal, it may be necessary to run these fountains for a half hour to flush out what has grown in the pipes.