Giessen. A new Drinking Water Ordinance will come into force on 1 November 2011. In the amended version, the Federal Ministry of Health stipulates, among other things, new rules for combating so-called legionella bacteria. The bacteria cause life-threatening pneumonia in humans and multiply in heated water - conditions that are also provided by water heating systems. In future, this will therefore apply to apartment buildings whose water heating systems have a capacity of at least 400 litres: Landlords must have the systems tested for legionella once a year. A registered company will take random samples and the results must be submitted to the health authority two weeks later. The new Drinking Water Ordinance also stipulates that the landlord must keep the test reports for ten years. Experts estimate that landlords will incur annual costs of around 200 euros.
No inspection for district heating connections
For apartment blocks with a district heating connection from Stadtwerke Gießen, there is no obligation to test. The reason for this: Plate heat exchangers are used in the individual stations to bring the drinking water up to temperature. The volume of this heating system is well below the limit value of 400 litres.