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Morris County Jail Starts Fix Plan After Discovery of Legionella Bacteria in Water Supply System
Peggy Wright, @PeggyWrightDR
Morris County Sheriff James Gannon at the County Jail(Photo: Peggy Wright / Daily Record)
TOWNSHIP OF MORRIS – The Legionella bacteria has been discovered in the Morris County water distribution system, making it the third county-owned building to be tested positive since July, officials said Monday.
The bacterium that can cause Legionnaires' Disease has also been detected in the water supply systems of Morris View's 283-bed health center and Homeless Solutions, a non-profit homeless shelter housed in a county-owned facility. from Morris Township.
Nobody in the county penitentiary, which has an average of 200 residents per day, has been diagnosed with the disease, a serious form of pneumonia, said county administrator John Bonanni.
The tests revealed no presence of Legionella in the juvenile detention center and the county's juvenile shelter, Bonanni said. The municipal services municipality of southeastern Morris County provides water to all buildings tested.
County Sheriff James Gannon, who heads the prison, has assembled a group of prison officials, including the medical director and the county director of Health Management, to publicly detail the prison's correctional efforts and raise awareness. staff and inmates.
"The health and safety of our staff and the people in our care is our top priority and it's all proactive," said Gannon.
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A memorandum signed by Gannon to staff and inmates recognized the detection of the bacteria and described the Legionella bacteria as naturally occurring in the environment and likely to develop in hot water tanks. large plumbing systems, cooling towers and decorative fountains.
Some 18-year-old prison units are no longer used and although the toilets are rinsed and water is being used in unused dwellings, officials said, stagnant water in the pipes is a probable source of the bacteria.
Experts from OMEGA Environmental Systems visited the prison on Monday and plumbing specialists will be invited to participate in a remediation plan, Gannon and Bonanni said. A water management plan to reduce the risk of bacteria returning will then be implemented, they said.
"While I'm sitting here, I'm very glad we did the tests, and no one has any symptoms," Gannon said.
The prison will install new filtration systems in the shower heads and remove the aerators from some faucets. Water faucets in individual cells are not a source of bacteria because of their design, officials said.
The bacterium was first discovered in July in blood tests performed on a Morris View client with an unbound disease. The county – which owns the facility but does not operate Morris View – has initiated a sewerage program including new piping. The county has also hired experts to test the water supply systems of its other facilities, where live and bathe people whose immune systems may be compromised, Bonanni said.
Legionnaires' disease, named in 1976 after an outbreak among people attending an American Legion convention at the Bellevue-Stratford Hotel in Philadelphia, is a serious case of bacterial pneumonia. The bacterium is inhaled, not ingested and is not spread from person to person, according to the state's Department of Health.
Personal Writer Peggy Wright: 973-267-1142; [email protected].
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