Defective water trap seals were identified by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as a major contributor to the 2003 SARS epidemic in Hong Kong, in which there were 321 infected cases and 42 deaths in Amoy Gardens estate alone. The WHO report into the outbreak confirmed that SARS had spread through the drainage system as a result of depleted floor traps. Poor plumbing and poor maintenance were identified as a contributory factor in many of the Amoy Gardens fatalities.

“...droplets originating from virus-rich excreta...re-entered into residents apartments via sewage and drainage systems where there were strong upwards air flows, inadequate ‘traps’ and non-functional water seals.” World Health Organisation Press Release WHO/70

In 2004, in direct response to this public health risk, the Drainage Research Group of Heriot-Watt University (HWU), Edinburgh, invented an innovative system for mapping and assessing water trap seal vulnerability in building drainage systems. An invention which then developed in conjunction with industry and the UK government, resulting in the ongoing partnership with Dyteqta.

The trap seal detection device - the Dyteqta-System - can be installed in new buildings or retrofitted to existing drainage networks to remotely monitor the integrity of water trap seals on a full or part time basis as required. The ability to test the system after design and throughout building life provides assurance that the building drainage system is working correctly.

Utilising the Dyteqta-System to monitor the drainage system as a regular protocol through standard Building Management Systems Facilities Management enables on-site design remedial action to be taken to prevent loss of water trap seals. This results in a fully functioning drainage system, which significantly reduces risk to public health through transmission of diseases and pathogens through cross contamination.

Dyteqta-System = health care for buildings
Investing in the Dyteqta-System will help to prevent potentially fatal cross contamination and infection spread in all types of buildings; from hospitals and airports to residential complexes and office blocks. The ability to test a drainage system remotely and by a non-invasive technique after design and through a building’s life will reassure owners, landlords and facilities managers that vital water trap seals are operating effectively.
Emeritus Professor John Swaffield
Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh