Offices, courthouses, a jail, and a psychiatric facility throughout Maryland—most in downtown Baltimore—all found Legionella bacteria in their water systems last year, but state law doesn’t have any regulations to address it on a large scale. One group hopes to change that next legislative session.
Legionella is the bacteria that causes Legionnaires’ disease, a severe pneumonia that can be fatal. Nationally, Legionella largely remains unregulated, though a handful of states, including New York and New Jersey, have laws governing it.
A water quality expert told The Baltimore Sun that Maryland should be next in line to implement a Legionella management policy to avoid potential outbreaks.
Since July 2024, 15 government buildings across Maryland have tested positive for high levels of Legionella, with the bacteria showing up in July, November, December, January, and February—at times recurring in the same buildings despite treatment.
“It is a serious and demonstrated public health concern,” said Baltimore City Councilman Zachary Blanchard, whose district includes several downtown buildings that saw repeated outbreaks of the bacteria during that six-month period.
And workers’ groups worry that their members could be sickened by the bacteria and even die if the state does not address the problem lurking in its plumbing. One union protested statewide worker safety issues like Legionella, caused by what they believe to be deferred maintenance.
Todd Reynolds, a political coordinator for the American Federation of Teachers—Maryland, another union that represents some state workers in affected buildings, attributed the lack of Legionnaires’ cases or deaths among workers or the public to luck, rather than preparedness.
“We can see the future, we’re just powerless to stop it,” Reynolds said. If we don’t become more proactive in ensuring worker safety, we can expect to see more tragedies occurring in the future.
Calls for better regulation have been made by Bob Bowcock, a former municipal water manager and member of The Alliance to Prevent Legionnaire’s Disease. He believes that Maryland could benefit from creating its own law to mitigate and treat Legionella bacteria, similar to the comprehensive law in New Jersey. The Alliance plans to introduce a similar law in Maryland, with the goal of having legislation ready for the next session.
In recent years, multiple buildings in Maryland have tested positive for dangerous levels of Legionella, including government offices and correctional facilities. Despite voluntary standards from organizations like ASHRAE, traditional regulation and policy have not been effective in preventing Legionella outbreaks. The federal EPA has set a maximum contaminant level goal of zero Legionella in drinking water, but it is not explicitly regulated in surface water.
