Directors of Hampton Roads’ water utilities and health department officials advise business owners and operators who closed or evacuated buildings due to the coronavirus to thoroughly flush their establishment’s plumbing systems before reopening.
Directors are recommending those practices for schools, daycares, lodging, offices, places of worship, event venues, retail, libraries, museums, restaurants, gyms, health care and other facilities which have remained closed during the shutdown.
When water is not used, the disinfectant in it dissipates over time.
Without chlorinated water flowing through the pipes for an extended period, microorganisms can grow in water pipes, fixtures and tanks, according to a news release from York County.
Prolonged water stagnation also can diminish the normal, protective scale on interior pipe walls. Without the protective scale, metal from the piping may dissolve into the water. During the flushing process, stagnant, existing water is replaced with fresh water, which has been continually treated and monitored by the region’s water utilities throughout the pandemic.
Instructions are available at York County’s Public Works website.
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