Keeping water-safety records for five years
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- Keep records of every check, reading, inspection and remedial job for at least five years.
- Each record should say what was done, where, when, the result, and who did it.
- Records also cover the risk assessment, the written scheme and who the Responsible Person is.
- Electronic records are fine, as long as they are kept securely and show who made each entry.
What the records must show
The ACoP L8 expects your records to include:
- the name of the Responsible Person, and of the people doing the work;
- the significant findings of the risk assessment;
- the written scheme of control, and the details of how it is put into practice;
- the results of every monitoring check, inspection, test and sample, with the date;
- remedial work — what was found, what was done about it and when;
- whether the system was in use at the time — for example, a room that was empty.
How long to keep them
Records of monitoring, inspections, tests and checks should be kept for at least five years. The risk assessment and written scheme should be kept for as long as they are current, and for at least two years after they are replaced.
Five years is a minimum. If a case of Legionnaires' disease were ever linked to your building, these records are what would show your system was being controlled.
Names, dates and signatures
A reading without a name and a date is weak evidence. Every entry should show who took it and when — not just the day the paperwork was filled in. A month of temperatures written up from memory on the last Friday is exactly what an inspector looks for.
Paper or electronic?
Either is acceptable. Electronic records must be kept securely, backed up, protected from being changed without trace, and show who made each entry. Paper logbooks have to survive five years in a plant room — and be findable when someone asks.
Gaps and mistakes
Don't fill in gaps after the event, and don't overwrite a wrong entry. Record the missed check as missed, note why, and record when it was done. Correct a mistake with a new entry that says what changed. An honest record with a gap you can explain is worth far more than a perfect one nobody believes.
How ShowerSafety handles this
Every log records who did it and when it was actually done — including readings taken offline in a plant room. Staff are deactivated, never deleted, so their names stay on five years of records, and every record can be printed or exported at any time.
This guide is a plain-English summary, not legal advice. Read the ACoP L8 and HSG274 Part 2 themselves, and follow your site's written scheme and risk assessment.