Microbial quality of building water systems has increasingly become a focus of attention by regulatory authorities and the scientific community.
An example of this is the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services memorandum “Requirement to Reduce Legionella Risk in Healthcare Facility Water Systems to Prevent Cases and Outbreaks of Legionnaires’ Disease,” which applies to Medicare-certified hospitals, critical access hospitals, and long-term care. It establishes a requirement for each facility to conduct a risk assessment to identify where Legionella and other opportunistic pathogens could grow and spread in the building water system.