Title: Protecting Stagnant Water Systems From Water Related Deterioration
Learner Objectives:
Water systems, including potable, open and closed cooling and heating systems, are not supposed to be stagnant. These systems are installed to provide reliable fresh water supply as well as to remove or add heat from a variety of sources including comfort and process applications and they are designed and constructed under the assumption that they will operate routinely. Why then are we seeing so many instances of corrosion, deposition, and microbial proliferation in systems where the equipment and piping is left in a stand-by or stagnant state for extended periods of time? There are several reasons why this is occurring with increasing frequency. The primary reasons encompass construction related delay in the need to start up new equipment, or are related to energy savings that are achieved by turning off pumps and fans when the mechanical cooling is not needed, or when the facility must be placed on urgent and extended stand-by due to the need to shut the facility down because of disease transmission concerns, such as the current COVID -19 Pandemic. The minimization of these problems involve proper specifications including plumbing design, proper materials selection and preservation, adequate inspection, and proper water treatment, This paper provides comprehensive recommendations to achieve these necessary shut-downs or start-up delays without aggravated corrosion, deposition, and microbial proliferation while minimizing exposure to litigation.
Content/Topic Outline:
Water systems, including potable, open and closed cooling and heating systems, are not supposed to be stagnant. These systems are installed to provide reliable fresh water supply as well as to remove or add heat from a variety of sources including comfort and process applications and they are designed and constructed under the assumption that they will operate routinely. Why then are we seeing so many instances of corrosion, deposition, and microbial proliferation in systems where the equipment and piping is left in a stand-by or stagnant state for extended periods of time? There are several reasons why this is occurring with increasing frequency. The primary reasons encompass construction related delay in the need to start up new equipment, or are related to energy savings that are achieved by turning off pumps and fans when the mechanical cooling is not needed, or when the facility must be placed on urgent and extended stand-by due to the need to shut the facility down because of disease transmission concerns, such as the current COVID -19 Pandemic. The minimization of these problems involve proper specifications including plumbing design, proper materials selection and preservation, adequate inspection, and proper water treatment, This paper provides comprehensive recommendations to achieve these necessary shut-downs or start-up delays without aggravated corrosion, deposition, and microbial proliferation while minimizing exposure to litigation.
Presenter:
Christoph Lohr is IAPMO’s Vice President of Strategic Initiatives. As part of his duties he provides industry leadership through participation in strategic industry initiatives, and provide technical support to all IAPMO’s business units as needed. He has over a decade of experience in designing plumbing systems for healthcare, laboratory, hospitality, sports, and university projects. He is a licensed professional engineer (PE) in six states, has his Certified-in-Plumbing-Design (CPD) certification from ASPE, is a LEED AP BD+C, and has his ASSE 12080 Legionella Mitigation Specialist designation. He has spoken at the ASPE 2018 Convention, Legionella 2018 and 2019 conferences, HITS Consortium, NIBS, and the ACEEE Hot Water Forum and has written over 50 articles and blog posts on the topics of water, legionella, medical gas, and leadership. Christoph's professional activities in the industry extend into multiple committees including ASPE Phoenix Chapter, ASPE Society, ASPE Legionella Working Group, ASHRAE Committees, PIPE Trust of Arizona, AWWA Plumbing Premise Committee, among others. He consistently looks to find long-term, holistic solutions that positively impact public health and safety, particularly in the world of water and plumbing. He is a distinguished graduate from the Virginia Military Institute, with a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering.
Robert J. Cunningham, PE, ASSE 12080, International Water Consultants
Adam Green, ASSE 12080, is an attorney and the Chairman of Baker Donelson’s national Water Technology and Water Treatment Group. Over the past 18 years, he has successfully consulted and defended clients in legionellosis related wrongful death and personal injury lawsuits across a wide range of industries and premises including hospitals, hotels, arenas and various heavy industry locations across the country. He has defended legionellosis outbreaks both before and after the creation of AHSRAE 188, the CMS Memorandum and related documents. His cases also include high value property damage claims arising from catastrophic system failures incident to a myriad of operational, design, maintenance and treatment related issues. He is a frequent author and speaker at the Association of Water Technologies, Cooling Technology Institute, International Association of Defense Counsel and others. He has published numerous technical papers on the subjects of legionella and water treatment in the CTI Journal, the AWT Analyst and the National Engineer.
Presentation Description:
Water systems, including potable, open and closed cooling and heating systems, are not supposed to be stagnant. These systems are installed to provide reliable fresh water supply as well as to remove or add heat from a variety of sources including comfort and process applications and they are designed and constructed under the assumption that they will operate routinely. Why then are we seeing so many instances of corrosion, deposition, and microbial proliferation in systems where the equipment and piping is left in a stand-by or stagnant state for extended periods of time? There are several reasons why this is occurring with increasing frequency. The primary reasons encompass construction related delay in the need to start up new equipment, or are related to energy savings that are achieved by turning off pumps and fans when the mechanical cooling is not needed, or when the facility must be placed on urgent and extended stand-by due to the need to shut the facility down because of disease transmission concerns, such as the current COVID -19 Pandemic. The minimization of these problems involve proper specifications including plumbing design, proper materials selection and preservation, adequate inspection, and proper water treatment, This paper provides comprehensive recommendations to achieve these necessary shut-downs or start-up delays without aggravated corrosion, deposition, and microbial proliferation while minimizing exposure to litigation.
Presenter Bio:
Christoph Lohr is IAPMO’s Vice President of Strategic Initiatives. As part of his duties he provides industry leadership through participation in strategic industry initiatives, and provide technical support to all IAPMO’s business units as needed. He has over a decade of experience in designing plumbing systems for healthcare, laboratory, hospitality, sports, and university projects. He is a licensed professional engineer (PE) in six states, has his Certified-in-Plumbing-Design (CPD) certification from ASPE, is a LEED AP BD+C, and has his ASSE 12080 Legionella Mitigation Specialist designation. He has spoken at the ASPE 2018 Convention, Legionella 2018 and 2019 conferences, HITS Consortium, NIBS, and the ACEEE Hot Water Forum and has written over 50 articles and blog posts on the topics of water, legionella, medical gas, and leadership. Christoph's professional activities in the industry extend into multiple committees including ASPE Phoenix Chapter, ASPE Society, ASPE Legionella Working Group, ASHRAE Committees, PIPE Trust of Arizona, AWWA Plumbing Premise Committee, among others. He consistently looks to find long-term, holistic solutions that positively impact public health and safety, particularly in the world of water and plumbing. He is a distinguished graduate from the Virginia Military Institute, with a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering.
Robert J. Cunningham, PE, ASSE 12080, International Water Consultants
Adam Green, ASSE 12080, is an attorney and the Chairman of Baker Donelson’s national Water Technology and Water Treatment Group. Over the past 18 years, he has successfully consulted and defended clients in legionellosis related wrongful death and personal injury lawsuits across a wide range of industries and premises including hospitals, hotels, arenas and various heavy industry locations across the country. He has defended legionellosis outbreaks both before and after the creation of AHSRAE 188, the CMS Memorandum and related documents. His cases also include high value property damage claims arising from catastrophic system failures incident to a myriad of operational, design, maintenance and treatment related issues. He is a frequent author and speaker at the Association of Water Technologies, Cooling Technology Institute, International Association of Defense Counsel and others. He has published numerous technical papers on the subjects of legionella and water treatment in the CTI Journal, the AWT Analyst and the National Engineer.