Part of the State Center complelx of state offices in midtown Baltimore on Dec. 3, 2024. Photo by Danielle J. Brown.
All buildings at State Center in Baltimore have been cleared of dangerous levels of Legionella levels in the drinking water, after rounds of closures, water testing and system flushing, state officials announced Friday.
Eric Solomon, communications director for the Department of General Services, said in an email that the last affected building in the complex is now cleared, but that testing will still go on.
“Our proactive baseline water testing continues. The Maryland Department of General Services just received results from our last affected building in the State Center complex,” Solomon said in the Friday email. “The 301 W. Preston St. building is now cleared of legionella bacteria. So all buildings in the State Center complex are within normal limits.”
The issue started back in November, when results from baseline water testing revealed dangerous levels of Legionella bacteria in four buildings at State Center. The complex hosts several state agencies including the departments of General Services, Health and Labor. Later tests also detected the Legionella bacteria in two district court buildings in Baltimore.
Staff working within affected state center buildings were asked to work remotely for a couple days to flush out the water systems and were given bottled water to drink in the meantime.
One State Center building cleared of Legionella, but it still plagues other state buildings
The bacteria’s presence was a sore spot for members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 3, who cited the outbreak as the most recent example of state employees working in unsafe facilities at a rally in early December at State Center.
The union said Friday it was pleased with the state’s progress of ridding State Center of Legionella.
“Our union is happy to see these results and is appreciative of efforts to flush the pipes and remediate the situation,” AFSCME officials said in a written statement Friday. “The health and safety of our members will always be our top priority, and we will continue to monitor and remain vigilant regarding our members’ health and safety needs.”
Legionella is a bacteria that can spread through water systems and can lead to severe respiratory illness, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. So far, no employees have contracted illnesses due to exposure to Legionella at the affected buildings the Department of General Services said.
Solomon said that all water restrictions have been lifted in all buildings at State Center and that the water is drinkable again.
He noted that two District Court buildings, at 5800 Wabash Ave. and 700 E. Patapsco Ave., are still awaiting results from water tests taken Dec. 30 to determine if they are still affected by Legionella in the water. Employees at those buildings are still encouraged to avoid drinking water in the court buildings until the test results show that they have also been cleared of the bacterium.