ASHRAE Continues Development Of Water Management Standard

ASHRAE announced its intent to continue development of a standard to establish safe management practices for building water systems. Global public health organization NSF International recently transferred facilitation of NSF Standard 444, Minimizing Risk of Disease and Injury Associated with Building Water Systems, to ASHRAE to complete the standard development process and publish it as ASHRAE Standard 514.

Proposed ASHRAE Standard 514 will be designated as a safety standard. The committee will coordinate with SSPC 188, Legionellosis: Risk Management for Building Water Systems, to ensure there is no conflict or duplication between the two standards. Where appropriate the document will reference ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 188-2018, Legionellosis: Risk Management for Building Water Systems. The committee will use NSF 444: Prevention of Injury and Disease Associated with Building Water Systems as the base document.

ASHRAE Standard 514 will build on the foundations Standard 188 and Standard 444 have provided. Standard 188 focuses on Legionella, offering guidance on the implementation of water management programs in buildings, while Standard 444 provides methodology covering the prevention of injury and disease from Legionella as well as other waterborne pathogens, chemicals and physical hazards.

“Standard 514 will go further to address building water quality, the importance of managing safe, quality building water systems and prevention strategies,” said 2018-2019 ASHRAE President Sheila J. Hayter, P.E. “We appreciate the contributions of NSF International and anticipate the publishing of a groundbreaking standard that will help safeguard building and public health.”

Both ASHRAE and NSF International agree the standard is urgently needed to assist regulators, public health departments, building owners and health care facilities in better managing the risk of Legionella and other waterborne pathogens and hazards in building water systems and to help save lives.

“We’re focused on getting the standard into the hands of people who can use it to prevent outbreaks of Legionella and other waterborne pathogens,” said Jessica Evans, Director of Standards at NSF International. “We’re proud of our contribution to this standard and we are confident ASHRAE will be able to bring all the necessary stakeholders together to finalize the standard.”

NSF International and ASHRAE are both accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) to develop voluntary standards and both are required to comply with ANSI’s Essential Requirements for openness, balance, consensus and due process. While ASHRAE will facilitate development of the standard, the actual content of the standard will continue to be developed by a committee of stakeholders from academia, public health, regulatory and industry sectors. Dozens of stakeholders from these sectors remain committed and engaged in the standard development process, including 21 voting members, 21 pending members and 95 observers from both NSF International and ASHRAE committees.

A call for members for Standard 514 is expected in early April with a 30 day deadline for new member applications.

The CDC estimates that between 8,000 and 18,000 people are hospitalized with Legionnaires’ disease in the United States each year, with more than 7,500 cases reported in 2017.