Project Details

In order to correct the deficiencies of their domestic hot water system, Lexington Medical Center, contracted with Harrell Design Group to provide contract documents that included how water is distributed and circulated, stored, heated and cooled, treated and monitored. The project scope of work also included recommendations and the design of system corrections to improve the facility’s legionella prevention program.

We coordinated all efforts of a floor-by-floor analysis with the Engineering staff to research and survey, verify the as-built drawings, analyze the existing conditions, and provide a list of dead legs and cross connections and their locations.

During the initial survey phase, it became apparent that no reliable as-built drawings existed for the building. During the investigate services phase of the project, HDG uncovered a number of unidentified plumbing dead legs and a lack of other measures now used for legionella prevention. The plumbing system design included modifications to these existing systems to comply with new legionella requirements.

Harrell Design Group retained a plumbing contractor who had extensive experience in the building to assist with an intensive survey of the entire building. HDG and our contractor spent two (2) months on site continuously documenting the existing hot and cold water distribution system. The survey process included cutting observation holes in shafts, chases, and other concealed spaces. A small video camera was used to verify the piping in these areas.

At the conclusion of the documentation phase, HDG prepared a list of deficiencies for all areas. Construction Documents were then created to include the identification of instances where dead legs of hot water lines which could foster the growth of Legionella bacteria exist, cross connections between hot and cold domestic water systems exist and other deficiencies in the domestic water systems exists which would require further investigation to resolve. These drawings also included the identification of critical control points in the building’s water distribution system(s), to show where measures can now be implemented to prevent the growth of legionella. The final documents included recommended corrections for all the identified deficiencies.

Project Size: 1,200,000 SF
Project Cost: $1,800,000