BS 8680:2020 and Water Safety Planning
In this article the water safety specialists at Water Treatment Services review guidance published by the British Standards Institute in BS 8680:2020 dealing with water safety planning.
The article considers guidance given on developing and implementing water safety plans to ensure building water is safe. It highlights a preventative risk-management approach, adapted from proposals developed by the World Health Organization, and how it can assist Water Safety Groups to ensure a holistic approach to water safety is adopted when managing engineering systems and equipment which use or contain water.
Water Safety Plans and BS 8680:2020
We do love our acronyms in the UK although it’s quite rare to see some numbers putting in an appearance alongside the letters. Deciphering the code isn’t always straightforward but in the case of BS 8690:2020 we’re talking about the latest British Standards publication concerned with water quality, water safety plans and management. It’s been quite a while since the last edition of these standards, so it’s worth taking a quick spin through what has changed in this latest release.
BS 8680:2020 and guidance covering water safety planning
The British Standards Institute, or BSI, is the body behind the famous Kitemark symbol. When spotted on a product, we all instantly know that the Kitemark represents quality and safety, and that the product comes up to all relevant regulatory standards.
The BSI works with businesses across many different business sectors in the UK. It has two different spheres of responsibility. Firstly, the BSI produces technical manuals codes of practice and standards for a wide range of products and services for commerce and industry. Secondly, it offers testing so that companies whose products reach the standards can put the Kitemark on their packaging. The latest BS 8680:2020 is the new manual when it comes to Water Safety Planning. It is designed to be used by any company, group or individual which has a responsibility for developing or using water safety plans as part of their health and safety planning processes.
The guidance has been produced to deal with the situation of having many water safety plans which were non-uniform in structure, and hard to read and use. The idea behind the new BSI publication is to produce a document which would be both useful to all interested parties and easily managed.
Who is BS 8680:2020 for?
The BSI have designed their new water safety document to appeal to a wide range of users. People whose job it is to keep internal water sources safe to use will clearly find it very useful, and also anyone who is involved with managing water sources in a workplace setting.
People who have the job of looking after Health and Safety aspects of water supply and hygiene in public-facing organisations should be aware of the guidance already. The new document is aimed at people who work in the following areas of water supply:
- Design and specification
- Installation or construction
- Operation and maintenance
- Commissioning
- Construction alterations or refurbishment
- Decommissioning and removal
What are the water safety aims and objectives behind BS 8680:2020?
The initial impetus for a re-working of the BS guidelines on water safety planning was the World Health Organisation (WHO) trying to develop a better way of ensuring everyone’s drinking water was safe. The WHO suggested a move from sampling and then addressing problems, to risk assessment and a more proactive approach to risk. The basic ethos behind the new code of practice is that prevention is better than cure.
BS 8680:2020 is designed to help organisations maintain basic standards of hygiene in its water supplies. It also aims to ensure that measures are in place to stop potentially dangerous bacteria including legionella and pseudomonas, which live in water getting a foothold in parts of any plumbing system where they then have the possibility of growing unmonitored and causing potential health issues. There are many bacteria in water which could cause health problems, especially in the elderly and people who have compromised immune systems when they are exposed to water aerosols in public buildings.
The British Standards guidance also ties in with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development goals, which are all about promoting health and well-being for all people. Another of the UN goals also fits with the BS standards as it is about sustainable water and sanitation for all.
Summarising the goals of BS 8680:2020
If we had to give a one-word answer as to what BS 8680:2020 is about, that word would be safety. Safety is at the forefront of developing water protocols for safety and hygiene whatever the situation with the aim of giving users complete peace of mind. Any public water supply has the potential to become contaminated, and often people who own and operate buildings overlook these invisible risks which might be hiding in their engineered water systems. Chemical risks, and risks from microorganisms must be managed carefully as if they are not, bacteria can be allowed to grow out of control.
The guidance in BS 8680:2020 sets out very clear specifications for anyone tasked with drawing up a Water Safety Plan (WSP) for a wide range of different buildings. It is designed to lay out best practice in the sector, and clarify statutory obligations and responsibilities when it comes to keeping water safe and clean.
Development of a Water Safety Plan
The British Standard recommends that anyone drafting a new water safety plan in light of the new guidance starts by undertaking an impartial assessment of what already exists. Then base your new plans on the findings of your detailed assessment. All operations and equipment should be covered within the plan, which should also clearly identify areas of operation which could increase risk to public health.
Water Safety Plans have an extended scope and should be used to monitor and document all engineered water systems and devices within a building. A separate part of the water plan should lay out any hazards which have been identified, any hazardous events or other risks which may be a factor. A Water Safety Plan will also lay out the strategy for managing the risks which have been identified, and make recommendations for a maintenance and monitoring programme to keep these risks under control.
Other aspects of water safety planning covered in the guidance
BS 8680:2020 also covers other hazards which are not related to water flowing through pipes in a building. The guidelines also cover risks from drowning, or damage to structures of a building from ice, or from scalding accidents caused by steam or very hot water. The guidance also looks at the risk of slipping or tripping in water which has been spilled, and how to design sinks to reduce splashes that may spread disease. It also looks at electrocution risks and the placement of electrical sockets in close proximity to water sources, and the risks of potential injury from water flowing at high pressure from jets.
Why is BS 8680:2020 and good water safety planning so important?
Water systems which don’t come up to the standards set out in the BS document are at greater risk of causing illness and outbreaks of disease from dangerous bacteria colonising the water systems, such as the potentially dangerous Legionnaires’ disease.
Having a Water Safety Plan in place is a very effective method of both measuring your current water safety performance and hygiene in terms of water supply, storage and distribution systems, and then documenting all risk assessment and management processes. The aim of the guidance is to help you identify anything within your sphere of responsibility which has the potential to affect public health, and then put measures in place to monitor and control the water systems to keep them running safely.
The consequences of poor water management
The World Health Organisation back in 2011 published an academic study looking into outbreaks of waterborne disease such as Legionnaires’ disease. The common theme was that in most cases, disease outbreaks could be traced back to a building where the water systems were not being managed safely. Preventing problems in the first place by implementing good design principles, and then having strong protocols for the ongoing management of risk could help combat such disruptive outbreaks of disease.
And finally…
BS 8680:2020 takes water safety to the next level in terms of planning, and will rapidly become the gold standard for businesses of all shapes and sizes. It’s a good idea to get up to speed now with the new recommendations and requirements, as these are soon going to become standard practice for all involved in the design, construction and management of engineered water systems and the risks they pose to people.
Specialist water safety management solutions
Water Treatment Services offer a range of specialist water safety management solutions to support the businesses and those responsible for the safety of water systems.
Contact us today to learn how our water safety experts can help you manage your water systems, maintain regulatory compliance and so keep people safe.
With offices in London serving the South and South East England, Manchester (North West), Birmingham (Midlands), Bristol (South East England and Wales), Leeds (North and North East) and Glasgow (Scotland), supported by regional teams of specially trained technicians and engineers we can offer specialist legionella risk assessments, training, water testing and other risk management solutions throughout the UK and Internationally.
Contact us today to learn how our expert water safety planning solutions can help you.
