Abstract
Drinking water distribution system contamination incidents can prompt public agencies and drinking water utilities to issue do-not-drink and do-not-use advisories. After the contaminant is cleared from distribution mains, consumers are often directed to flush their plumbing. However, little validated guidance and few evaluated communications strategies are available on using flushing to decontaminate building water systems. Additionally, limited data support the effectiveness of current practices and recommendations. In this study, expert elicitation was used to assess existing flushing guidance and develop validated flushing guidance and communications for single-family residences. The resulting guidance recommends progressively opening all cold-water taps from the closest to point of entry to the furthest and allowing the water to run for at least 20 minutes. Hot-water taps should be opened progressively and run for at least 75 minutes. The guidance language and format conformed to grade-level and readability scores within recommended health communication ranges. The readability of eight other flushing guidance documents was also evaluated for contamination incidents from 2008-2015. Seven were written at a 10th-12th grade level, above the 6th-7th grade level recommended for health communications.
Highlights
Lisa Ragain Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments, 777 North Capitol St NE #300, Washington, DCJennifer L
To address the lack of evidence for both flushing guidance and effective communications strategies, our goal was to (1) use available resources to develop a guidance for flushing building plumbing and service lines and (2) develop a communications strategy to deliver the guidance to audiences consisting of home owners, building managers, and others with control over building plumbing
We evaluated the readability of eight past flushing protocols to identify effective messages that could be used in our guidance
Summary
Lisa Ragain Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments, 777 North Capitol St NE #300, Washington, DCJennifer L. Contaminant fate and transport in building plumbing can differ widely based on the plumbing system material, plumbing system configuration and contaminant, with some contaminants posing risks to building water systems (BWS) or the. Adding to the complexity, building plumbing and the distribution system supplying water to BWS comprise a connected network that is a shared responsibility between the water utility and building owner to flush out contaminants (National Research Council ). Ownership of and management of water quality and delivery become the responsibility of the property owner
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