I assess the Legionella risk — then I can put it right.
I carry out Legionella risk assessments on hot and cold water systems in Luton and the surrounding counties, to ACOP L8 and HSG274 Part 2. Because I’m also a registered gas, water and electrical engineer, my assessments cover the condition of the plant as well as the water hygiene — and if remedial work is needed, the same engineer can carry it out. You get a clear, prioritised report you can act on, and a written scheme to keep you compliant.
The water hygiene and the engineering, from one person.
A Legionella risk assessment and a proper understanding of the plant it sits on are two different skill sets. I hold both — a City & Guilds assured Legionella and water hygiene risk assessor, WaterSafe-registered and a member of the CIPHE, and a registered gas and electrical engineer. So when I assess your system to ACOP L8 and HSG274 Part 2, I’m also reading the cylinders, boilers, pipework and controls behind it, and I understand what I’m looking at.
When the report lists remedial work, I can carry it out myself — to a proper standard, by one person accountable for both finding the risk and putting it right. In practice that means less for you to coordinate, and nobody to chase between trades.
The law expects you to control the risk — not just file a report.
If you’re responsible for a building with a water system — as a landlord, a managing agent, or the person running a care or supported-living scheme — you have a legal duty to assess and control the risk of Legionella. That duty comes from the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act and the COSHH Regulations, with the detail set out in the HSE’s Approved Code of Practice L8 and the technical guidance in HSG274.
It isn’t about owning a document. It’s about identifying where bacteria could grow — stored or stagnant water, the wrong temperatures, dead legs, scale and biofilm — and then keeping those conditions under control, with a written scheme, monitoring and records. Where vulnerable people are involved the bar is higher still, because they are the ones most at risk if it goes wrong.
What a proper assessment actually looks at.
Measured at the right points
Hot water stored at 60°C and delivered hot, cold water kept below 20°C, and the blended temperatures at every TMV — taken at sentinel and representative outlets with a calibrated contact thermometer, the way HSG274 expects.
Where bacteria multiply
Cold water storage tanks — their lids, condition, temperature and how they’re plumbed — along with dead legs and outlets that sit unused. These are the places Legionella grows, and the first things a good survey hunts for.
How clean water gets contaminated
Filling loops, garden taps, non-WRAS flexible hoses and missing check valves — the routes by which heating-circuit or contaminated water can get back into the wholesome supply. Assessed against the Water Supply (Water Fittings) Regulations 1999.
What keeps control going after I leave
Whether there’s a written scheme, a logbook, a sentinel monitoring regime, trained staff and a named responsible person. Where there’s nothing in place, I set one up so the building stays controlled, not just assessed once.
Read by an engineer who knows it
Cylinders, boilers, secondary return pumps, TMVs, point-of-use heaters and pipework insulation — the equipment that decides whether the system holds the right temperatures. An uninsulated plant room sitting at 38°C quietly heats the cold water passing through it; a faulty cylinder thermostat fails to hold 60°C. Because I’m assessing the engineering as well as the water, I can show you exactly what these mean for your risk — and put them right.
Some of what I’ve found on site.
Every one of these is from a real assessment on a supported-living scheme. They’re examples of what a careful, engineering-led survey turns up — and why I look at the plant, not only the water.
- Live, exposed wiring on a hot water cylinder’s immersion and controls, with a fused spur hanging by its wires — an immediate electric-shock risk, in the same plant room as the water system.
- A point-of-use water heater fitted with no expansion vessel and its pressure-relief valve plumbed into the waste — unsafe, and unable to reach a temperature that controls bacteria.
- A central-heating filling loop left permanently connected on a non-WRAS hose — a direct backflow path from the heating circuit into the drinking water.
- Cold water storage tanks “covered” with plastic bags and loose insulation dipping into the water, in a loft with rodent droppings around them.
- TMVs at every basin delivering water at 39–44°C — the right temperature to protect vulnerable residents from scalding, and also the right temperature for Legionella to grow — with no service records.
- An uninsulated boiler room running at nearly 38°C, heating the cold water passing through it above 20°C across an entire building.
To the standard, and defensible.
Survey the whole system, on site
I walk the building and the plant: the mains, tanks, cylinders, pipework, every outlet and the boiler room. I measure temperatures with calibrated contact equipment and record the condition of everything that stores or moves water.
Assessed to ACOP L8 and HSG274 Part 2
Every finding is rated High, Medium or Low and tied to the specific guidance or regulation behind it — ACOP L8, HSG274 Part 2, the Water Fittings Regulations, BS 8558 — so it stands up to scrutiny.
A clear, prioritised report — and a written scheme
You get an executive summary with the overall risk rating, a description of the system, a schematic where one is needed, and every defect with its location, priority and a specific recommended action. Where there’s no control scheme, I put one in place: logbook, monitoring regime, sentinel points and a responsible person.
Remedial work, if you want it
I explain the findings in plain English and stay on call for questions. If you’d like the remedial work done, I can carry it out myself — or guide whoever does.
One engineer for the rest of the plant room, too.
A water-system survey almost always turns up things that need a heating or electrical engineer anyway — a boiler overdue a service, a cylinder that won’t hold temperature, a nagging electrical fault. Because I’m registered across these trades, I can put those right while I’m there, rather than you lining up separate contractors. It’s the same reason a lot of clients keep me on for the building’s ongoing maintenance.
Serviced, repaired, installed
GasSafe-registered servicing, repair and installation — domestic and commercial boilers, gas water heaters and plant room work.
Air, ground & water source
F-Gas-registered work on air, ground and water source heat pumps, air conditioning and MVHR — installation, servicing and fault-finding.
Faults found and tested
A qualified electrician for fault-finding, inspection and testing (EICR), wiring, and heating and building controls including KNX.
The remedials, done properly
Unvented hot water (G3), water regulations, and the cylinder, TMV and pipework work an assessment typically recommends.
For a new or upgraded system, I also provide full M&E design and calculations — sized and specified properly before anyone fits a thing. That’s covered in detail on my heating system design page.
Anyone responsible for a building’s water — especially where people are vulnerable.
- Care, supported & assisted-living providers — where residents are most at risk and the duty is taken most seriously. This is the work I do most.
- Landlords, letting & managing agents — residential lettings and HMOs that need an assessment to meet their legal duty.
- Hotels, guest houses & similar premises — stored water, many outlets and a constant turnover of occupants.
- Commercial buildings & plant rooms — offices, communal systems and the plant that serves them.
What this is — and who it’s for.
The risk assessment is quoted per property, once I’ve seen the building or know its size and layout. If remedial work is needed, I’ll quote it as a fixed price or by the hour. I’ll be straight with you: I’m not the cheapest option, and I don’t try to be. If all you want is the cheapest certificate to tick a box, I’m probably not the right fit. If you want the risk genuinely understood and controlled — by someone who can also put the problems right — that’s exactly what I do. Tell me about the property and I’ll give you a clear quote.
Luton, the home counties, and further for the right project.
I’m based in Luton and cover Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and north London as standard — roughly an hour’s drive from home. Recent Legionella assessments have taken me to St Albans, Harpenden, Welwyn Garden City and Hitchin, and into north London at Totteridge and North Finchley.
- Bedfordshire — Luton, Dunstable, Houghton Regis and the surrounding towns.
- Hertfordshire — St Albans, Harpenden, Welwyn Garden City, Hitchin, Stevenage, Hemel Hempstead and nearby.
- North London — Barnet, Totteridge, Finchley and the neighbouring boroughs.
- Further afield — larger, specialist or multi-site jobs anywhere in the country, where travel is covered.
For a bigger or specialist project I’ll travel well beyond the usual radius — a large student accommodation or a multi-site portfolio is worth the journey, and the assessment takes however long it takes to do properly. If you’re outside the area, ask anyway; if it’s the right project, I’ll come to you.
Tell me about the property.
Tell me what the building is and roughly how many outlets it has, and I’ll explain what the assessment involves and what it costs. If you already have a report full of actions nobody has done, send me that too.
Call 07864 757929
Email office@bson247.co.uk
Building Services ON 247 — Luton. Legionella risk assessment, water hygiene and the engineering to put things right.