On Friday, June 5 the City of St.Louis Water Division learned that the St. Louis Public Schools (SLPS) central office identified what they believed to be Legionella bacteria in portions of their internal water system.
The City of St. Louis Water Division is committed to promoting public health by providing safe drinking water to our customers. Legionella concerns are most commonly associated with conditions inside a building’s plumbing system, not distribution systems, and backflow prevention requirements are in place to ensure water from private systems cannot flow back into the public water distribution system to safeguard public health and safety.
The Water Division plants use Chloramine (Chlorine and Ammonia) to disinfectant drinking water and control bacterial growth. In addition, the Division monitors and tests the drinking water supply for over 150 possible contaminants daily with approximately 27,000 tests performed annually to ensure our water is safe to drink and maintain compliance with all federal and state drinking water regulations.
Anyone with questions about Legionella is encouraged to contact the City of St. Louis City Health Department or the Missouri Department of Health and Social Services.
