Preventing Legionnaires' disease
Do you own a building? Then you are responsible for the quality of the tap water. You must ensure that people are not at risk of catching Legionnaires’ disease. Strict rules on the prevention of Legionnaires’ disease apply to some companies and organisations.
Find out more or arrange now
at your municipality, province, or water authority
What is Legionella?
Legionella is a bacterium that can cause an infection of the airways called legionellosis, or Legionnaires’ disease. Legionella bacteria may grow in water with a temperature between 20 and 55 degrees Celsius. For example:
- tap water
- swimming pools
- fountains and sprinkler water at garden centres and car washes
- cooling water in wet cooling towers
People can catch Legionnaires' disease by breathing in the bacteria through water droplets (mist) in the air.
High-risk locations
Strict prevention rules apply for some businesses and institutions where the risk of infection with Legionnaires’ disease is higher. These priority institutions (in Dutch) include:
- hospitals
- healthcare institutions (care homes, mental health centres, specialised care)
- saunas
- swimming pools and establishments with pools on their premises, such as wellness centres and sex clubs
- hotels, B&B's, and holiday rental apartments that accomodate more than 5 guests
- asylum seekers' centres
Do you have such a company or institution? Then you must take mandatory measures to prevent infection (in Dutch).
Mandatory risk analysis
You must ask a certified company to conduct a risk analysis. This can only be done by a company with BRL 6010 certification (in Dutch). This analysis shows where in your business or institution Legionella bacteria are growing or may start to grow.
Legionella management plan
Based on the risk analysis, you must ask a BRL 6010 certified company to draw up a Legionella management plan. This sets out the measures you must take to prevent the growth of Legionella bacteria.
You must take steps to prevent the (further) growth of Legionella bacteria, such as regularly flushing the pipes in your building.
Water checks
You must have your water checked at least twice a year by a certified sampler. If there are more than 100 colony-forming units of the bacteria per litre (cfu/l), you must take action.
If there are more than 1,000 colony-forming units per litre (cfu/l), you must report this within 48 hours to the Human Environment and Transport Inspectorate (Inspectie Leefomgeving en Transport, ILT, in Dutch). You must keep records of any measures you have taken and when these were taken.
Swimming pools
The rules for swimming pools are different. Does the bathing water contain 100 colony-forming units of Legionella per litre or more (cfu/l)? Then you must report this to your provincial authority as soon as possible. You can always do this through the Omgevingsloket (in Dutch) online service counter. In some cases, you can also submit a report to an environmental service or on your province’s website.
Keep a logbook
You must also keep a logbook in which you register which measures you have taken and when.
Report cluster infections
Have 2 or more people contracted Legionnaires’ disease in less than 2 years at the same location? If so, this is called a cluster infection. Source detection (in Dutch) is then done using water samples. You must have your company or location investigated by the Human Environment and Transport Inspectorate (ILT, in Dutch).
Wet cooling towers
If you use a wet cooling tower to cool your building or manufacturing process, you must notify your municipality via the online service counter Omgevingsloket (in Dutch). Wet cooling towers increase the risk of spreading Legionella bacteria, as they release droplets of water into the air.