Water Authority – Cayman sponsored a seminar on Friday 23rd March on water quality in building water systems in partnership with the Environmental Science, Policy and Research Institute (ESPRI).
The seminar was presented by ESPRI Executive Director Dr. Jennifer Clancy and ESPRI Research Engineer Dr. Sheldon Masters.
Water Authority Board Chairman Mr. Kearney Gomez said that: “The Water Authority was very pleased to facilitate this seminar, which provided an excellent educational opportunity on managing building water quality. Both presenters were extremely knowledgeable and provided an excellent presentation that made the audience aware of the importance of managing water quality in buildings.”
The half-day seminar, which addressed the importance of building water management plans in modern commercial buildings, was attended by about 100 representatives of local businesses and Government agencies.
Water Authority Water Resources Engineer Hendrik-Jan van Genderen explained that the workshop was targeted at the people responsible for the design, construction and maintenance of water systems in commercial buildings.
“Water supply systems in modern commercial buildings have become quite complex and the people involved in designing, building, operating and maintaining these facilities are not necessarily trained in water quality issues,” he said. “When the Water Authority receives a complaint about water quality, the Laboratory follows up with an investigation and at times we find that the water quality in the building has changed from what the Authority has supplied. The Authority has no control over water quality once it has passed through the meter.”
Dr. Clancy explained that such cases are examples of the potential for “good water to go bad” once it enters the plumbing of commercial buildings.
“Many building owners do not know that water quality may degrade in their plumbing. They may not be aware that they are responsible for water quality downstream of the water meter, and may not have sufficient knowledge to operate their systems in order to maintain water quality,” she said. “The seminar was designed to create awareness and to provide education how to deal with water quality issues within building water systems.”
Over the course of the workshop, participants learned more about the issues that make building plumbing systems unique and how those unique conditions can lead to water quality problems ranging from discolouration to disease. Dr. Masters discussed a number of case studies of examples from the US in which outbreaks of diseases, such as Legionnaires’ disease, have been linked to the operation of building water systems. One particularly striking case study involved a 7-storey, recirculating waterfall that was not being properly disinfected and, as an unintended consequence of certain design features, maximised public exposure to pathogens in the water.
The workshop then moved on to building water management plans to address potential hazards in building plumbing systems and to mitigate risks before they become problems through Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP)-based water safety management programmes.
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The Water Authority is the statutory body responsible for the management of water and wastewater in the Cayman Islands. The Administrative Headquarters is located at 13G Red Gate Road, George Town, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands.
