Water Sector News
A snapshot of clean water stories from publications around the country, updated daily!
Wastewater monitoring updates to add new capabilities beyond COVID-19 and Twin Cities
Minnesota is updating and centralizing its COVID-19 wastewater reporting system. The updates will combine testing done in the metro area with a statewide monitoring system capable of detecting a variety of viruses in the general population, including COVID-19.
Wastewater surveillance of COVID-19 has become an important tool for monitoring trends with the virus, especially as the use of at-home tests has increased. These at-home test results are not generally reported to public health departments.
Beginning Sept. 1, Metropolitan Council, working as partners with the University of Minnesota Genomics Center (UMGC), will no longer be testing samples for SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19). Testing will shift to the University of Minnesota Medical School and the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) Public Health Laboratory.