Buffalo Public Schools investigating Legionella being found in District office

Buffalo Public Schools are investigating a claim of Legionella bacteria being found in a single water sample by the custodial engineer in a room at the Districts office on Clinton Street.

A spokesperson for BPS says they cannot assume this is accurate or valid due to there being no standards for Legionella testing and results for buildings that are non-health care related. 

They currently have no information about the specimen collection technique, the validity of the lab test, or the quality of the lab. Officials were also told one sample is not a good indicator of risk. 

BPS tells Eyewitness News local health officials have not received any complaints of Legionella outbreaks associated with a specific building this year. 

The District building raised the water temperature to 170 degrees on the hot water system out of caution. Also, both hot and cold water systems are being flushed.

A sampling protocol, with results taking up to two weeks, will begin when flushing is completed.

The District office expects no interruption of operations and services at this time.