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POU coolers

In July and August 2007, the UK experienced extreme summer weather which had a large impact on bottled and POU coolers. Such phenomena are not confined to the UK, so there are lessons here for bottled and POU cooler operations across Europe.

In part one, I talked about the impact of heavy rainfall on one bottler. POU was also affected, but on the other side of the UK. Now to discuss the problems encountered by POU coolers in some parts of the UK, when the mains water supply quality was compromised by flooding.

Mains water – differences from bottled water for coolers

The UK is blessed with a well-maintained, safe public water supply. The tap water companies are supervised and checked by the Drinking Water Inspectorate, a government body. The DWI carries out close supervision of tap water quality and is empowered to fine or discipline water companies if there's a decline in water quality. If there's a temporary disruption to tap water quality, the companies generally issue 'Boil Water Orders' to deal with any microbiological issues. This happens occasionally, sometimes because of the presence of the chlorine-resistant Cryptosporidium parasite.

The UK POU industry is built on the premise that the UK’s tap water is fit to drink and, to be frank, the POU industry has had little reason to doubt its suppliers. POU coolers are entirely dependent on the quality of the water delivered to them by tap water companies. The floods of July and August 2007 delivered a big shock to tap water users and the POU industry as a whole.

Shortly after the massive rainstorms that led to the flash flooding that caused the demise of the bottling company described in part one, it became clear that the flood water had made its way into major river systems, and that a wave of heavy flooding was moving down the rivers, keeping almost to a timetable. The flooding that occurred in the Thames and Severn river systems was very heavy, with many towns, villages and even cities experiencing major flooding.

The worst was yet to come, as a major water works in the Severn Valley at Mythe near Tewkesbury was flooded. The water company advised everybody that the water supply to more than 140,000 homes had been compromised and wasn't fit to drink. The water supply to these homes and offices was then cut off and a major operation delivering bottled water and water tankers to affected areas began.

A few days later, the water company said that the water could be used for non-drinking purposes, but that it shouldn't be drunk even if boiled. This was virtually unprecedented and strongly suggested that the water supply might be dangerously contaminated, not just with microorganisms, but chemicals as well. No advice was given about the extent of the contamination or the treatment of devices such as POU coolers and vending machines that were connected to the supply. Users were asking questions and no answers were being given.

EPDWA members and Watermark Consultancy clients were advised that any coolers that were proven to be grossly contaminated should be removed from use, and that they were probably beyond sanitisation. This certainly applied to any coolers that had been flooded. Responsible cooler companies warned their clients and told them to isolate coolers before any affected water could reach them. This looked like being an expensive lesson for POU cooler companies, as some had hundreds of coolers in the affected area.

Given the all-clear

About a week later, the water company announced that the water supply was now fit to drink, and that simply running water until it ran clear and cold, then running off a further five litres, was sufficient to restore the supply. This was the first indication that perhaps the drama of the preceding days was not as serious as it had looked. After all, what about the millions of litres held in the supply system?

In fact, after a number of enquiries, the water company revealed that the actions they had taken had been precautionary and that serious contamination hadn't actually taken place at all! This was a relief, but of no consolation to those cooler companies who had taken positive action (but those who had been in touch with their clients received many appreciative comments). Significantly, some consumers complained to me about cooler companies who had failed to communicate with them. So perhaps all was not in vain.

When coolers were reconnected, advice was given as follows:

1. Disconnect the cooler at the take-off point to the supply.

2. Run off water until it runs clear and cold.

3. Run off a further five litres into a bucket.

4. Consider whether to replace all 5mm tubing.

5. Reconnect to the cooler.

6. Flush at least 10 litres of fresh water through the cooler.

7. Change the filter and sanitise the cooler before recommissioning.

For coolers that may have been adversely affected by moderately contaminated water, the following advice was given to Watermark Consultancy clients.

After disconnecting the cooler and isolating the hot tank:

1. Fill the water contact parts of the cooler with an activated solution of chlorine dioxide.

2. For overnight disinfection, use 50mg/l.

3. For 'immediate' disinfection, use 200mg/l for four hours.

4. Rinse well and flush, making sure that the taps have received the full dose of chlorine dioxide.

5. Flush out the hot tank and ensure that it's up to temperature before permitting use.

6. For slightly contaminated water, routine sanitisation methods will suffice.

Lessons learned

1. Companies must be on the alert for incidents such as this. If you can develop contacts with the tap water companies in your area and ask to be given immediate warning of any boil water orders or worse, you will be able to act quickly. Remember these are your water suppliers, so talk to them.

2. Make sure you know which supplies every one of your coolers. They will differ according to location.

3. Fit all coolers with an easily accessible shut-off valve adjacent to the cooler that the customer can identify and use.

4. On hearing of a crisis, immediately contact all of your customers in the affected area and tell them to shut off the coolers so that affected water cannot reach them.

5. Keep in close touch with all of your customers and contact them if an incident occurs. Don't wait for announcements or action to be taken by the tap water companies. At times like this, the last thing they're thinking about is water coolers. This is your responsibility.

6. Be prepared to replace pipework and filters and sanitise the coolers when the supply returns to normal.

7. Make sure that your filters will take out parasite cysts. These are filters with NSF 53 standard or those with documentation to show that they will remove 95% removal of one-micron particles. This is an EPDWA requirement. Filters claiming to be just 'one-micron nominal' may not offer adequate performance. Choose your filters carefully.

8. Wait and see before taking drastic action. The water company may merely be acting in a precautionary way. If the coolers are isolated, they're safe.

9. Be prepared to write off seriously affected coolers. Press your trade association for a statement on this, as it will help with insurance claims.

10. Accept that with climate changes taking place, disruptive weather may hit at any time and even mains water isn't protected against extreme weather.

11. Remember that taking the initiative with customers on issues like this will raise the reputation of your company. Failure to do so will have the reverse effect.

Tap water quality and POU coolers

POU coolers are not an easy option – like bottled coolers, they have their limitations. Even if they're installed and serviced properly, problems can still arise. So:

1. Make sure that you only connect to designated portable water that's fit to drink. Tanked supplies are mainly to be avoided.

2. Remember that the role of the filter is to make tap water taste nicer and not to make unsatisfactory water fit to drink.

3. Carry out a survey when you plan installation.

4. Keep micro bore piping to a minimum.

5. Do not route the feed water or site filters so that they become warm.

6. Realise that the problem bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa, which is illegal in bottled water, isn't illegal in tap water. It is present quite often in water distribution systems.

7. Only use professionally trained installers who have also received hygiene training. The EPDWA and BWCA provide training on hygiene and installation. This will hopefully be available through EBWA soon.

8. Don't take short cuts with installation, as you will probably regret it. Installation isn't an area in which to look for economical savings. You only do it once, so get it right first time.

9. Sanitise regularly.

The EPDWA has built up a lot of expertise with POU coolers. Let's hope that this expertise can be made available to EBWA.

N.B. As I was putting the finishing touches to this article, I was told that there was a problem with Cryptosporidium in tap water in Oslo. Please, not again!