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<\/p>\n(WXYZ) \u2014 The 7 investigators were the first to report that more Legionella bacteria was found in the water system on the Oakland County campus in Pontiac.<\/p>\n
Watch Heather Catallo’s video report: <\/p>\n
‘Inexcusable.’ County leaders frustrated over delay in Legionnaires’ response<\/p>\n
First, it was detected in the Sheriff\u2019s Office, then it was found in the courthouse.<\/p>\n
Now, some elected officials are questioning why they weren\u2019t told sooner about the potentially deadly bacteria being found in the water.<\/p>\n
Related Story: Oakland County expands water testing for Legionella bacteria to courthouse<\/p>\n
Oakland County expands water testing for Legionella bacteria to courthouse<\/p>\n
The 7 Investigators have learned there was a delay in alerting hundreds of employees and members of the public. We also discovered that as of Tuesday, employee sinks in the courthouse still did not have special filters installed; notices not to use those sinks were not posted until after the 7 Investigators contacted county officials.<\/p>\n
A county spokesman said the results confirming Legionella in the courthouse \u201cwere delivered by email after 3 p.m. on December 23 to a single employee whose shift is 6 a.m. \u2013 2 p.m. The email was opened the morning of the next business day\u2026 which was December 26.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI’m frustrated and angry that I wasn’t notified immediately,\u201d said Lisa Brown, Oakland County Clerk and Register of Deeds.<\/p>\n
Brown\u2019s staff was busy at work inside the courthouse on both December 23 and December 26.<\/p>\n
When she learned the county was notified on December 23 that 4 of 11 test sites in the Oakland County Courthouse tested positive for Legionella, she started pressing for answers and calls the delay in alerting elected officials and hundreds of employees \u201cinexcusable.\u201d<\/p>\n
Related Story: Oakland County had no plan to routinely test water prior to Legionella discovery <\/p>\n
Oakland Co. had no plan to routinely test water prior to legionella discovery<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat do you think should have happened?\u201d asked 7 Investigator Heather Catallo.<\/p>\n
\u201cI believe in treating people how you want to be treated. So, I would have contacted, at least, the elected officials in this building to let them know, so they can let their staff know,\u201d said Brown. “The role of government should be to protect the health, safety, and welfare of its residents….”<\/p>\n
The potentially deadly bacteria that causes a form of pneumonia was found in men\u2019s bathrooms on the first and third floors, and in two sinks in the basement cafeteria.<\/p>\n
Those results follow a Legionnaires’ diagnosis in a custodial employee who works in the Oakland County Sheriff\u2019s office, Building 38E, which is across the street from the courthouse.<\/p>\n
County officials say they learned about that diagnosis on November 10, 2025, but did not test the Sheriff\u2019s office until more than two weeks later on November 25, 2025.<\/p>\n
Those results came back on December 4, 2025, and the county closed the Sheriff\u2019s headquarters for remediation. It is now back open.<\/p>\n
On December 5, 2025, the County disclosed publicly that a member of the public who got Legionnaires’ disease back in April had listed the courthouse as a place he had visited.<\/p>\n
\u201cWas anything done to do any testing in April?\u201d asked Catallo during an interview on December 11 with Oakland County Public Information Officer Bill Mullan.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, because we did not have that second case to connect it and begin testing, which is what is standard in terms of testing public buildings in Michigan,\u201d said Mullan. \u201cThere\u2019s no immediate risk to the public in the courthouse.\u201d<\/p>\n
The court complex not only houses Brown\u2019s staff of about 100 people, but hundreds of judges, court employees, and prosecutors, plus the Treasurer\u2019s office and the Board of Commissioners’ offices. And the building is full of public restrooms where the public can easily access the water.<\/p>\n
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WXYZ <\/p>\n
Lisa Brown<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you think the building should have been tested back in April when there was that other case?\u201d asked Catallo.<\/p>\n
\u201cI’m more of a proactive person. I\u2019d rather rule it out and be safe. I would’ve done the testing, but that’s just the kind person I am,\u201d said Brown.<\/p>\n
The 7 Investigators previously reported that county officials\u202fadmitted no plan was in place to regularly monitor\u202fthe water system that feeds their 45 buildings.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy didn’t the county have a regular water testing plan?\u201d Catallo asked County Executive David Coulter on December 17.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don’t know, it’s not mandated by anyone, it is not the law that we have to or obviously we would have. But I think we’re working towards that,\u201d said Coulter.<\/p>\n
Despite the custodial employee in the sheriff\u2019s office testing positive in early November, no testing was done in the courthouse until December 15th and the special .2 micron filters were not added to the bathrooms in the courthouse until December 30th \u2014 51 days after the employee\u2019s Legionnaires diagnosis.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt’s very frustrating. I’m concerned that someone else is going to get sick,\u201d said Brown.<\/p>\n
The 7 Investigators visited the courthouse on Tuesday, which was fully open to the public. While the public restrooms did have filters on the sinks, several employee bathrooms still did not have filters installed. On Tuesday, photographs obtained by the 7 Investigators showed there were no signs warning employees not to use the water.<\/p>\n
The 7 Investigators have also learned that the county only tested one water system loop in the courthouse tower. The women\u2019s bathrooms on that loop were not tested.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe testing follows the path of the case which includes only men\u2019s restrooms. The Courthouse Tower is on a closed loop. It does not share water with the rest of the building,\u201d said Mullan in an email Wednesday.<\/p>\n
The 7 Investigators asked Mullan why the county would not test other loops in the building, such as the prosecutor\u2019s office wing, or the Treasurer\u2019s office, or the Board of Commissioners’ offices. With Legionella in a separate \u201cloop\u201d in the Sheriff\u2019s office, some employees have questioned why more locations in a busy public court building were not sampled. Mullan said they are following CDC protocol for the testing.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would rather be proactive. Let’s do the testing. Let’s put the filters on. Let’s be safe, and just make sure. But I’m not in charge of this building, I’m just a tenant,\u201d said Brown.<\/p>\n
Brown says she\u2019s brought in bottled water, masks, and allowed immunocompromised employees to work remotely. Brown also wants the public to know they are open, but you don’t have to come to the building to access their services. <\/p>\n
\u201cI want people to know that many of our services are available online. So, if they don’t have to come to the courthouse, that\u2019s just a reminder,\u201d said Brown. \u201cI’d rather people be safe and protected and have the knowledge that before they’re walking into a building where they could possibly be exposed to something that could make them sick or worse.\u201d<\/p>\n