Your cooling tower deadlines, tracked before DOHMH sees a gap.
TowerBinder counts the 31 days, checks that your water treatment vendor reported each sample to DOHMH, and keeps the binder an inspector asks for. Your records stay yours when the vendor or the manager changes.
Reads DOHMH’s public registry, inspection results and OATH summonses. Nothing to install, no sign-in.
- 46%
- of DOHMH’s cooling tower summonses since May 8, 2026 are for a sample date not reported within 5 days
- 31 days
- between Legionella samples, with no cure period
- Public
- each registered tower’s reported sample dates, on NYC Open Data
Source: OATH hearings on NYC Open Data, DOHMH cooling tower summonses issued May 8 to Oct 13, 2026.
How it works
A warning before the City, and proof on the day it comes
- 01CheckType the address. See the last sample date DOHMH shows, the 31-day clock and any summons on the lot.
- 02WatchA free account emails you the day the 31 days run short, before DOHMH sees a gap, and when a new summons or a hearing comes up.
- 03Keep the binderEvery deadline for each system, your vendor’s reports checked against DOHMH, and the records an inspector asks for, kept on your side.
The rules
What NYC asks of a cooling tower owner
- What NYC’s cooling tower law asks of owners
Registration, the plan, monthly samples, 90-day inspections, cleanings and the records, in one place.
- Legionella samples every 31 days
Since May 8, 2026: an ELAP lab, a sample at most 31 days after the last, the date reported in 5 days.
- A positive Legionella result: what to do, and by when
Table 8-1 by level: start disinfection within 24 hours, remediate within 48 at 1,000 CFU/ml, notify DOHMH, retest within 3 to 7 days.
- Startups, shutdowns and idle towers
Cleaning in the 15 days before a startup, a pre-startup inspection, a sample 3 to 14 days after, reports in 5 days, and idle towers.
- Summer hyperhalogenation and its declaration
July 1 to August 31, a sample 3 to 31 days after, and the declaration within 30 days.
- The annual certification, then January and July
November 1, 2026 to DOB with the receipt on file, then twice a year, and the State registry beside it.
- NYC cooling tower summons codes, explained
AH8S, AHK2, AH8C and the rest: what each code on a DOHMH summons means, how often it is issued, and what to do before the hearing.
- What changed for NYC cooling towers in 2026
May 8: monthly samples and 5-day reports. September 4: as soon as possible. November 3: January and July, 10-year records, higher caps.
Pricing
Per registered system, opening before the spring startups
FAQ
Questions owners and managers ask
What does the free check read?
Three public files the City keeps: the DOHMH cooling tower registry with the Legionella sample dates your qualified person reported, the DOHMH inspection results, and the OATH summonses on the tax lot. Nothing is sent to DOHMH and there is no sign-in.
Does TowerBinder replace my water treatment vendor?
No. Your vendor or qualified person still samples, inspects and files in the City’s portal. TowerBinder keeps the deadlines and the records on the owner’s side and checks that each sample date reached DOHMH within 5 days.
What does “overdue if operating” mean?
The DOHMH registry does not say whether a tower is running. If the last sample date it shows is more than 31 days old, a running system is past due for its next sample. A tower drained for the season owes a shutdown report instead.
Who can see a missing sample date?
Anyone. DOHMH’s cooling tower registry on NYC Open Data lists every registered system with the sample dates its qualified person reported, and OATH’s summonses are public too. TowerBinder warns you before a gap appears there.
What is free, and what will cost?
Monitoring is free: add your buildings at app.towerbinder.com and get the 31-day clock, the summonses and an alert email. The records and the binder for the inspector cost $79 a system a month or $790 a year, and a second system in the same building $39 a month; managing agents with 10 or more systems pay $49 a system a month, billed yearly. They open to the first buildings before the spring 2027 startups.
Who sees what I type into the check?
The address or BIN goes to NYC’s public data services to answer the check, and the answer is kept for an hour. Checks are counted per visitor under a salted hash, never your IP address. A sign-up is used only to write to you about TowerBinder.
Early access
Be one of the first buildings
The records and the binder open to the first buildings before the spring 2027 startups. Tell us who you are and how many systems you look after; we write when your place is ready.