Aqua Pennsylvania Encourages Building and Business Owners to Flush Internal Plumbing Before Reopening After Prolonged Closings Due to COVID-19

By On Mar 19, 2021

BRYN MAWR, Pa .– (BUSINESS WIRE) – Aqua Pennsylvania is reaching out to commercial customers whose stores may have been closed for long periods of time due to COVID-19 and is asking them to thoroughly flush their internal plumbing before reopening or resuming operations.

“Water that is left unused in pipes, equipment such as ice machines and building systems while these buildings are closed for extended periods of time can stagnate and create undesirable tastes or odors when the building is reopened and water usage is restored to normal,” said Marc Lucca , President of Aqua Pennsylvania. “Long periods of inactivity can affect water quality, which in some cases can cause metals like lead to leach out and bacteria like legionella to grow. It is important that customers take appropriate action to resolve these potential problems. ”

Lucca added that building installations, including water heaters, must be thoroughly flushed before reopening for normal use by flushing all cold water pipes first and then hot water pipes. Thorough flushing includes the operation of all washbasin, bathtub, shower and toilet fittings. Safety equipment such as eye wash, safety showers, and sprinkler systems may also need to be assessed and serviced.

Standard installation devices should be flushed as follows:

Toilets should be flushed several times to ensure fresh water flows through the plumbing
Taps and showers should run for a total of about 10 minutes, with cold taps running first, followed by hot taps

“We recommend flushing other equipment thoroughly to bring fresh water into the system,” said Lucca. “We also recommend that our customers run water until they can smell the chlorine in the water. Customers should follow the manufacturer’s instructions for replacing water filters on equipment such as refrigerators and ice machines. ”

Aqua customers can refer to the company’s April 30 warning at AquaAmerica.com for more information. Detailed instructions on reactivating plumbing systems after hibernation can also be found on the Centers for Disease Control website.

Aqua Pennsylvania serves approximately 1.4 million people in 32 counties in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Visit AquaAmerica.com for more information or follow Aqua on Facebook at facebook.com/MyAquaAmerica and on Twitter at @MyAquaAmerica.