Has Legionella ever been found in sea water? I work as an engineer at a desalination plant in the Canaries and our plant provides the water to the community. The query is: can the bacteria be sourced from the sea water used? The water is chlorinated prior to distribution.
We have no direct experience with the presence of Legionella in seawater. However, we surmise that seawater would not be a likely source for Legionella. Legionella can be isolated from rivers and lakes, but we know of no survey of Legionella in sea water.
An indirect piece of evidence: Legionella can be killed by a high concentration of sodium ions, a major component of seawater.