Business uses established Aqua Care branding

Aqua Care Water Hygiene Services - offers a complete portfolio of on-site services, from initial risk assessments through remediation to planned maintenance, cleaning and disinfection programmes.

Bournemouth and West Hampshire Water, the primary supplier of potable water to East Dorset and West Hampshire, has entered the water hygiene services market.

This well-timed entry into a challenging market is in direct response to customer requests and increased awareness within government departments and commercial enterprises of the importance of managing water quality.

The new business - called Aqua Care Water Hygiene Services - offers a complete portfolio of on-site services, from initial risk assessments through remediation to planned maintenance, cleaning and disinfection programmes.

It will deliver this portfolio throughout the UK from a base at the water utility's Christchurch offices.

Helping organisations comply with Health and Safety Legionella legislation is Aqua Care Water Hygiene Service's primary objective, particularly with the Commission's Approved Code of Practice (ACoP) L8 describing the control of Legionella bacteria in water systems; the company is registered with the Legionella Control Association (formerly the Code of Conduct).

"As one of the UK's best performing water utilities, we take our legal responsibilities, enforced by the Drinking Water Inspectorate, seriously," states Tony Cooke, managing director of Bournemouth and West Hampshire Water.

"This new business enables us to extend our water quality knowledge and expertise to property managers - going beyond the property boundary - to help them comply with relevant legislation and engineer out systemic problems".

Water within man-made systems inside buildings such as hospitals, care-homes, prisons, office blocks, shopping malls or hotels can cause expensive problems and inconvenience for managers, residents, clients and customers.

Of the potential hazards present in these systems, Legionella is the one of the most serious.

Legionella bacteria thrive at the temperatures commonly found in hot water systems and air conditioning cooling towers, particularly poorly maintained and unclean installations.

Other areas at risk include spa baths, whirlpools and Jacuzzis, and fire fighting equipment such as sprinklers and hose reels.

Following an on-site water system risk assessment, Aqua Care Water Hygiene Services will prepare a written report containing asset registers, schematic diagrams and a prioritised action plan for achieving compliance with ACoP L8 and the Water Supply (Fittings) Regulations, 1999.

Importantly, it will go beyond simply reporting current system state and remediation requirements to identify key training needs for on-site personnel to ensure the client's on-going compliance.

Aqua Care Water Hygiene Services is a Non-Regulated Activity of Bournemouth and West Hampshire Water.

The utility ranks fourth of all water companies in England and Wales in Ofwat's composite measure of service performance and achieves 99.89% performance in the Drinking Water Inspectorate's Operating Performance Index.

It is the principle component of Cascal, a joint venture between Biwater and the Dutch multi-utility company, Nuon.

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