Our sewers are seeing an increase in concentrations of the SARS-CoV-2 virus RNA as we are in the middle of the holiday season. Officials are warning people to continue to be vigilant about COVID at this time of year. In addition to holiday get-togethers, new COVID subvariants are blamed for the increasing detections of COVID in sewer systems like Boston.  NBC Boston’s “COVID Questions and Answers” segment (about 21 minutes) recently featured Wastewater-Based Epidemiology (WBE): MA COVID Wastewater: Boston Doctors Explain if Rise Indicates Surge – NBC Boston. As a result, Boston is considering reinstating mask mandates for public spaces. 

WBE is continuing to prove useful for public health purposes. The Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA) has continued to collect and analyze its wastewater samples for COVID (check out MWRA - Wastewater COVID-19 Tracking). With increases in COVID detections, Boston is expanding its detection network within the sewer system. The Maine CDC has a webpage compiling the most recent data for all the WRRFs in Maine that are participating – and it’s a lot!  New Hampshire plans to do the same: N.H. COVID data site will soon include wastewater tracking | New Hampshire Public Radio (nhpr.org)

NEBRAMail has reported on the science of WBE numerous times in the past (see www.nebiosolids.org/news from 4/23/20, 12/14/20, 6/30/21). Since then, WBE has evolved and improved to become a valuable tool in the fight against COVID and other communicable diseases. For example, a study has found that detection of certain pharmaceuticals can predict an outbreak of COVID. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (the CDC) has plans for expanding uses of WBE after seeing its value during the COVID pandemic. For example, the CDC plans to start monitoring for polio which popped up again in New York back in September and later in the year in Michigan and Pennsylvania.

Then there is the Monkeypox public health emergency! WBE can pick up on all the latest in communicable diseases.  According to the MWRA's website, the company doing the WBE work for them, Biobot Analytics, did get some extra samples back in August to try out their procedures for testing for Monkeypox. They did have at least one sample come up positive for Monkeypox.

For a great short video on WBE sampling, check out this good one by students in Michigan helping out with the cause on their campus: (104) Gritty Jobs: Wastewater Testing - YouTube. A lot of local universities are jumping into the research including the University of Connecticut and Yale. Some think that testing the solids is even more effective than testing the wastewater. The research and technology development continue.  More research work is needed but WBE technology is advancing every day.

If you are interested in learning more about wastewater surveillance for your utility or in general, check out the upcoming webinar from the California Water Environment Association and the California Association of Sanitation Agencies on January 11th at 9 PST/Noon EST: Online Wastewater Education Network (OWEN): CWEA/CASA Presents: National Webinar on Wastewater Based Epidemiology - Live Webinar (mycwea.org).