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Cooling tower registration

All premises with cooling towers and evaporative condensers must register with the council.*

If you install any kind of cooling tower or evaporative condenser you have a legal duty to notify us within one month of the installation.

There is no charge for the registration.

*Under the Notification of Cooling Towers and Evaporative Condensers Regulations 1992.

How do I notify the council?

If you have a cooling tower, please complete our on-line cooling tower notification form using the link below:

• on-line cooling tower notification form (This link will take you to the business link website - follow the instructions on the page).

Alternatively you can download the cooling tower notification form from the menu on the right and return the completed form to the address below.

Upon receipt of the notification form the cooling tower will then be immediately registered.

What is a Cooling Tower or Evaporative Condenser?

A cooling tower is used to cool water by direct contact between that water and a stream of air.
 
An evaporative condenser is used to cool water by passing that fluid through a heat exchanger which is itself cooled by contact with water passing through a stream of air.
 
Common uses of cooling towers are providing cooled water for air-conditioning, manufacturing processes and electric power generation. If your company has air conditioned offices or carries out a manufacturing process that involves the use of water as a coolant, it may have a cooling tower.
 

What is the purpose of registration?

The main reason for registering cooling towers and evaporative condensers is to identify potential areas that could give rise to infectious disease and to ensure preventative measures are taken to preventative measures are taken to stop the risk of infection in employees and the public.

Cooling towers and evaporative condensers have the potential to cause outbreaks of disease, e.g. legionella which can cause legionnaire's disease. Given the right set of circumstances legionella can multiply and cause infection in people who inhale airborne water droplets containing the bacteria. For this reason all cooling towers and evaporative condensers in premises within South Oxfordshire must be registered with South Oxfordshire District Council’s Food and Safety team.

Will Tacit Consent Apply?

Yes. Tacit consent means that if we have not dealt with your application within the target period identified then your application will have been deemed to have been granted/approved. Our target for dealing with cooling tower notifications is 28 days. Please note that the processing target period (28 days) only begins on receipt of a fully completed application and acknowledgement of such by South Oxfordshire District Council.

What about changes?

Once you are registered, you will need to notify us if there is any change to a cooling tower within one month. A new notification form will need to be completed and submitted.

If a tower becomes redundant or dismantled, this should also be notified as soon as possible.

Cooling tower list

Details from the application forms will appear in a public register. You can download a list of all cooling towers in South Oxfordshire from the menu on the right.

Contact details

For further information, please contact the Food and Safety Team:

Food and Safety Team
South Oxfordshire District Council
Benson Lane
Crowmarsh Gifford
Wallingford
Oxon
OX10 8NL

Telephone: 01491 823203
Fax: 01491 823201
Email: env.health@southoxon.gov.uk