Water Sector News
A snapshot of clean water stories from publications around the country, updated daily!
What wastewater surveillance currently tells us about COVID-19 cases
The COVID-19 pandemic is ongoing, even though many people may have started acting like the emergency has passed. A key tool in tracking the pandemic has been wastewater surveillance, especially when case counts and testing numbers have become less reliable with more people using rapid tests and testing access becoming more limited again.
How do researchers conduct wastewater surveillance?
Researchers collect water samples from designated sites on a predetermined schedule. The samples are processed in a laboratory, where technicians look for genetic fragments of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus that enters the system through human waste.
Because the virus begins breaking down when it enters wastewater, it may not be possible to isolate whole viruses. In some cases, researchers may be able to identify specific short sequences belonging to particular variants.