Cities grappled for new ways to protect the public as the COVID-19 pandemic swept across North America. In response, researchers identified wastewater testing as an affordable and effective way to get valuable insight into community health.
With limited testing resources and the knowledge that asymptomatic carriers could spread the virus, the New York State Department of Health (DOH) pioneered this approach to keep people safe and inform potential reopening plans. Arcadis collaborated with DOH and partners to pilot a wastewater testing program in four upstate communities.
Studies have proven that wastewater testing provides about seven days advance notice of the virus’ presence in the community before symptoms appear. However, it requires deep knowledge of the community, wastewater collection systems, and testing capabilities to make sure the right data is being collected from the right locations. Arcadis’ team used their knowledge of the local collection system to jumpstart in-depth research specific to COVID-19.
Arcadis’ scientists and engineers assessed best-in-class techniques and cutting-edge approaches available to test wastewater for the virus. In partnership with Syracuse University, the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, and the analytical laboratory, the team used data trending, as well as epidemiological and analytical methodologies, to optimize the technique and identify ‘hot spots’ within communities. Finding these hot spots a week before health officials do can provide actionable information that helps reduce community transmission.
Through the pilot program, the team and DOH gained a deeper understanding of how detecting COVID-19 through wastewater sampling can inform vital public health decisions. Monitoring helps health officials understand where the virus is present at a low per-capita cost, even without people showing physical symptoms or getting tested.
As more cities and communities adopt this approach, early detection of the virus’ presence in wastewater allow state and local officials to protect their residents while maintaining their anonymity. When cases decrease, monitoring wastewater will confirm the decline and ease anxiety regarding the presence of the virus in the community. This plays a pivotal role in helping communities recover from the devastating impacts of COVID-19.
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