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Now that the U.S. EPA’s Lead and Copper Rule has been finalized, planning is underway in communities across the country to replace the estimated 9 million service lines made of lead or galvanized steel. This should reduce the amount of lead in the nation’s public water systems, but can it introduce another potential hazard – Legionella?
As the U.S. summer vacation season heats up, now would be a good time for hotels, spas, health clubs, and other facilities catering to a water-minded clientele to test their water systems for opportunistic waterborne pathogens. According to the latest waterborne disease outbreak surveillance report published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 62% of waterborne disease outbreaks originated in recreational water systems. Of course, recreational water–associated outbreaks can happen year-round, but 31% of these cases occurred in June or July.
According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), Legionnaires’ disease is on the rise in the United States. In 2000, roughly 1000 cases were reported. That number ballooned to 10,000 cases in 2018, the last year for which data is available. The CDC issued a 2021 report on waterborne diseases, but this report only looks at cases of Legionellosis associated with an outbreak. Most cases of waterborne diseases, including Legionnaires’ disease, are sporadic, i.e., not epidemiologically linked to other cases by time, location of exposure to water, and type of illness.
