Grand Rapids Discusses Plans to Deal with Legionnaires’ Outbreak from Water Supply

On Feb. 12, the Minnesota Department of Health issued a press release declaring the source of a Legionnaires’ disease outbreak in Grand Rapids as the public water supply. Yesterday at the Yanmar Arena, Grand Rapids Public Utilities held a community workshop to discuss potential plans to deal with the outbreak.

Since April of 2023, there have been 14 recorded cases of Legionnaires’ disease, where most were reported in the center of the city of Grand Rapids.

“So Legionella causes a bacterial pneumonia,” said Chad Seidel, Corona Environmental Consulting President. “So the way that individuals are infected is by aerosolized water droplets going into the lungs. So those droplets have to be containing that bacteria and have to be containing the bacteria at sufficient concentrations, enough of them, so they can then find a home within the respiratory system and start to grow and cause that infection.”

The most critical sources of exposure to the disease are faucets, showers, humidifiers and even hot tubs – essentially, anything that can turn water into a vapor and be inhaled.

“The biggest way that homeowners can address Legionella concerns is first and foremost by maintaining the hot water hot and the cold water cold, because Legionella bacteria really only like to grow and proliferate at moderate temperatures,” explained Seidel. “And then just keep things clean: clean your faucets, clean your shower heads, clean your humidifiers.”

Corona Environmental, the consulting agency the city of Grand Rapids has partnered with, could actually use the community’s help to fight the outbreak.

“We’re going to be looking for community members that would be willing to allow us to collect samples, in their businesses and homes, to correspond to locations that the water utility will already be collecting samples in the distribution system. So if they’re interested in being a part of this and can make their faucets or fixtures available for testing, perhaps as frequently as a weekly basis, we welcome them sharing their contact information with the public utility and will incorporate their locations into our selection of locations and go from there and have a robust sampling plan going forward.”

If you are in the Grand Rapids area and feel you may have some symptoms of Legionnaires’ disease, the Minnesota Department of Health recommends that you seek medical attention immediately.