Reports

We recommend that the PBS Commissioner provide appropriate oversight to ensure water is safe to occupants in its buildings by defining roles and responsibilities for maintaining water quality in GSA-controlled facilities.

We recommend that the PBS Commissioner provide appropriate oversight to ensure water is safe to occupants in its buildings by ensuring that: water quality is maintained through consistent policies and practices nationwide; deviations to PBS’s Drinking Water Quality Management policy and the PBS water safety guidance are approved by PBS’s Central Office; and any water safety policies or guidance developed by regional offices do not contradict policies and guidance issued at the national level.

We recommend that the PBS Commissioner provide appropriate oversight to ensure water is safe to occupants in its buildings by ensuring that PBS’s water safety activities are incorporated into O&M contracts, recorded in PBS’s National Computerized Maintenance Management System, and overseen by PBS personnel.

We recommend that the PBS Commissioner provide appropriate oversight to ensure water is safe to occupants in its buildings by incorporating PBS’s water safety oversight responsibilities into quality assurance surveillance plans for O&M contracts to ensure contractor compliance with water safety activities.

We recommend that the PBS Commissioner provide appropriate oversight to ensure water is safe to occupants in its buildings by ensuring that PBS personnel and O&M contractors have access to tenant spaces so flushing can be performed.

We recommend that the PBS Commissioner provide appropriate oversight to ensure water is safe to occupants in its buildings by amending O&M and other contracts to ensure that energy efficiency and water conservation requirements do not conflict with PBS’s Drinking Water Quality Management policy and the PBS water safety guidance.

We recommend that the PBS Commissioner provide appropriate oversight to ensure water is safe to occupants in its buildings by ensuring that water is tested in GSA’s child care centers as required by PBS’s Drinking Water Quality Management policy.

We recommend that the PBS Commissioner provide appropriate oversight to ensure water is safe to occupants in its buildings by ensuring water quality test results—especially those above EPA action levels—are communicated timely to building tenants, GSA child care center operators, and parents and guardians of affected children.

We recommend that the PBS Commissioner provide appropriate oversight to ensure water is safe to occupants in its buildings by amending and implementing PBS’s Drinking Water Quality Management policy to: include reduced occupancy or decreased water usage as additional criteria for lead, copper, Legionella bacteria, and other contaminant testing; ensure requirements in PBS’s Drinking Water Quality Management policy, its companion Desk Guide for Drinking Water Quality Management, and the PBS water safety guidance are incorporated into the amended policy, unless there are safety reasons why such requirements cannot or should not be incorporated; and formalize its requirement to complete additional testing at child care centers that close for extended periods of time.