The Department of Health and Mental Hygiene just sent out a list of cooling tower tips for heat waves set to impact the city in the coming weeks. Here’s what your team needs to know to keep your equipment in peak condition and prevent the growth of bacteria like Legionella.

Remember “A few TIPS”

DOHMH’s acronym is structured to help you remember preventive maintenance best practices throughout the summer:

• Anticipate: Keep an eye on the weather; be prepared for hot weather in the forecast
• Treat: Check your chemical inventory. Contact your water treatment company to prepare and enhance your treatment program in anticipation of the approaching challenges
• Inspect: Make sure the CTS and its mechanical equipment (e.g., chillers, heat exchangers, circulation pumps) are ready. Have your facility personnel or mechanical contractor inspect your equipment.
• Protect: Safeguard your assets by enhanced monitoring and immediate response to issues. Consider an additional or larger biocide dose during a heat wave to minimize bacterial growth. Increased bacterial growth may result in expensive interventions, equipment damage, prolonged interruptions in service, severe operational consequences, and potentially significant liability.
• Save: Save energy and money by raising your thermostat and decreasing power demand where you can during periods of extreme hot weather.

In addition to these quick reminders, the Department put together a full checklist for each of the above. This includes references to the law – specifically, 24RCNY8-05(f).

Download the full PDF checklist from the DOHMH here. 

Don’t Forget Hyperhalogenation

These best practices are all in addition to the required annual summertime hyperhalogenation, due each summer between July 1 – August 31. We’ve got a full rundown of requirements for the summertime application here, in our Big Book of Compliance. You can also get the DOHMH guidelines in their PDF, linked here.

If you’re not doing it already, tracking hyperhalogenation applications and cooling tower registrations is easy using SiteCompli’s Compliance Manager. Reach out to your Customer Success Manager to get started, and make sure your team is on top of these ongoing requirements.

About the Author

Kristen Hariton

Kristen Hariton is the Vice President, Product Engagement at SiteCompli, focused on exploring new solutions and innovations in property operations tech. When she's not sharing the latest industry trends, changes, and updates, she's planning her next adventure to Walt Disney World.