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<\/p>\nFifty years after a devastating Pennsylvania outbreak that gave Legionnaires’ Disease its name, state legislators met on Monday less than a mile from the Philadelphia site where it happened to discuss the practicality of minimum standards that could prevent future cases.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Legionnaires’ Disease, caused by the Legionella bacteria, got its name following a 1976 outbreak at an American Legion convention in Philadelphia that killed 29 people. Most people exposed to Legionella don’t get sick and most reported instances are sporadic, not widespread.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It doesn’t typically spread from person-to-person, but rather through aerosolized droplets of unclean water \u2014 complicating efforts to minimize it because the bacteria can grow anywhere from the water source to the final faucet, including pipes or cooling tanks.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Bill McQuade, an engineer and former president of the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration, and Air Conditioning Engineers, pushes for greater effort to reduce cases of Legionnaires’ Disease on July 20, 2026. (Screenshot from livestream)<\/p>\n
“Pennsylvania has a unique place in the history of this disease. It should also have a leadership role in preventing it,” said Bill McQuade, an engineer and former president of the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration, and Air Conditioning Engineers.\u00a0<\/p>\n
McQuade, who also is on the board of the Alliance to Prevent Legionnaires’ Disease, and others support House Bill 2085<\/a>, by Rep. Ismail Smith-Wade-El (D-Lancaster). It would impose new minimum standards on public water systems and certain building owners, similar to a recent law in New Jersey<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Smith-Wade-El pointed to previous outbreaks at the Lancaster County Prison<\/a> and an ongoing outbreak in New York City<\/a>, noting that people in institutional settings are at risk for the disease.\u00a0<\/p>\n “I want us to get to a version of the bill that prioritizes protecting vulnerable people, regardless of where they are,” he said. “If we don’t know what specific \u2026 approaches work to protect people in their homes, I want us to figure it out.”<\/p>\n SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE<\/a><\/p>\n But utility providers warned of the extra cost imposed by such regulations, adding that those expenses could be passed to consumers. Several also emphasized that they alone couldn’t be held responsible for preventing Legionnaires, since many cases are linked to individual properties.\u00a0<\/p>\n “As drafted, (it) assigns responsibility to public water systems for building-level risks that they cannot control, and may divert resources away from the systems and facilities where prevention must occur,” said Charlotte Katzenmoyer, the CEO of Harrisburg-based Capital Region Water.<\/p>\n Smith-Wade-El said in committee he intended to work with stakeholders, including those who testified, to “get this right.”<\/p>\n More on Legionnaires’ Disease<\/p>\n The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that one in every 10 people<\/a> who get sick from Legionnaires’ Disease die from complications, but noted that maintaining healthy water standards is key to preventing the disease’s spread.\u00a0<\/p>\n The serious form of pneumonia can be treated with antibiotics, usually developing within two weeks of exposure. Symptoms include cough, fever, headaches, muscle aches and shortness of breath. Some people also report confusion, nausea and diarrhea.\u00a0<\/p>\n Legionnaires cases peaked in 2018<\/a>, briefly fell and then rebounded close to record levels last year. It is most prevalent in the northeast, with New York City and West Virginia reporting the highest number of cases.\u00a0<\/p>\n Kristina Zwolenik, a waterborne epidemiology research associate with the state Department of Health, spoke about the growing number of Legionella cases identified in Pennsylvania before a committee on July 20, 2026. (Screenshot from livestream)<\/p>\n According to Kristina Zwolenik, a waterborne epidemiology research associate with the state Department of Health, Pennsylvania recorded 1,231 confirmed or probable Legionella infections between 2021 and 2023, with an average annual infection rate double the national average.\u00a0<\/p>\n Initial state reports identified as many as 450 cases in 2025, higher than previous years.\u00a0<\/p>\n “In the majority of the outbreaks that we have successfully identified the source of the exposure, the root cause has been poor maintenance inside the building itself,” said Zwolenik. “We routinely trace cases back to poor, irregular or non-existent maintenance of hot tubs, ice machines and cooling towers as well as building renovations that leave water stagnant in unused spaces.”<\/p>\n But Zwolenik reported that the burden of the legislative proposal on her department “would exceed our current capacity,” adding that the agency would need to increase staffing.<\/p>\n With so many variables and unknowns, experts shared that it can also be difficult to narrow in on one specific regulation that might reduce Legionella cases. It’s unknown why the Mid-Atlantic, for example, reports the highest prevalence of cases.<\/p>\n But the threat is increasing as water-based heat waves, which are periods of abnormally high water temperatures, increase in intensity and frequency due to climate change<\/a>.<\/p>\n Researchers like Charles N. Haas, an environmental engineering professor at Drexel University in Philadelphia, emphasized the “shared responsibility” for prevention efforts, noting that water utility oversight ends at an individual’s property line.\u00a0<\/p>\n Charles N. Haas, an environmental engineering professor at Drexel University in Philadelphia, speaks about ways to mitigate Legionella at a legislative hearing on July 20, 2026. (Screenshot from livestream)<\/p>\n Between property pipes, water heaters, air conditioning units, showers and more, Haas said, “there’s a lot of potential for the water to sit warm (and) stagnant,” conditions that allow Legionella to multiply. Other cases are linked to dental offices, HVAC systems, decorative fountains or even misting systems, but upstream actions from water utilities can potentially dislodge old biofilm growths, risking exposure<\/a>.<\/p>\n “Under a shared responsibility model, both parties need to get their acts together,” continued Haas. “I think what the bill gets right is the requirement for high-risk facilities to have a water management plan. That’s where the science says the fight belongs.”<\/p>\n The slim odds of contracting Legionnaires’ Disease can make it more difficult to investigate, since most people don’t get sick. Those most at risk include current or former smokers, people with certain health conditions and anyone over the age of 50.<\/p>\n Preventative action<\/p>\n Haas and others panned an additional proposal that would increase the statewide minimum level of chlorine, which is used as a disinfectant against Legionella \u2014 with Katzenmoyer calling it “especially concerning.”<\/p>\n “Disinfection requires careful technical judgment to balance microbial control, water age, corrosion control, taste and odor, infrastructure conditions and compliance with disinfection limits,” said Katzenmoyer. “These decisions belong to the scientific and regulatory process, not in statute.”\u00a0<\/p>\n Charlotte Katzenmoyer, the CEO of Harrisburg-based Capital Region Water, shares concerns about proposed regulations on July 20, 2026. (Screenshot from livestream)<\/p>\n Increased chlorine levels could create byproducts, which comes with its own regulations, or increase the long-term risk of cancer for water consumers, she continued.\u00a0<\/p>\n Not all of Katzenmoyer’s colleagues agreed. Bill Murray, the executive director of the Reading Area Water Authority, called the Smith-Wade-El’s bill “thoughtful and necessary,” but called for refining its language to provide “clear accountability.”\u00a0<\/p>\n “Make no mistake, Legionnaires’ disease is the enemy of every one of us \u2026 it exploits vulnerabilities where they exist and, when it does, families suffer,” continued Murray.\u00a0<\/p>\n Murray noted local limits when it came to oversight of building projects, adding that a developer could decide to use a reservoir over local water sources to save money, though it comes with additional risks.\u00a0<\/p>\n Steve Chintaman, the vice president of government affairs with the Pennsylvania Apartment Association, similarly spoke about the need for amendments that, “would improve the legislation by ensuring compliance requirements are practical, risk-based and appropriately allocate responsibility among all parties involved.”\u00a0<\/p>\n![\"Kristina](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/pennsylvania_capital_star_articles_971\/a5fa96b0cc40eb4588997e09e3b04131.jpeg\"\/)
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