The Path Out of Coronavirus Lockdown?
Follow the Wastewater

by Allison Mackenzie, CEO

As the United State passes the one million mark for documented cases of Covid-19, one of the most frustrating aspects of the current pandemic is that identification and extent of community outbreaks is tied to the number of test kits available. Due to inadequate test kit supplies, available testing has been limited to individuals already experiencing symptoms. This, in turn, has limited the number of identified cases to the number of kits. It is now suspected that in the California Bay Area, the virus may have been circulating in the population more than a month before health officials began looking for it (LA Times, April 11, 2020).

Finding a quick way to locate and identify disease outbreaks before they manifest in the community has researchers at several universities focusing their attention on a surprising yet familiar matrix—wastewater. Interest in the new field of wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) has gained traction and offers a promising way to identify coronavirus using wastewater. “WBE holds the promise of near real-time monitoring of disease outbreaks,” according to an April 23, 2020 news release from Arizona State University.

Researchers at Stanford and the University of Michigan appear to agree. In a news release from U of M, Stanford Professor of Environmental Engineering, Alexandria Boehm, is quoted as saying, “Our hope is that we can detect an uptick in cases with this tool faster than we can through clinical testing. We don’t know that for sure but that’s the hypothesis.”

And there’s good reason Boehm and other scientists believe wastewater will prove effective, because it turns out that ... read more.

Safe Recycled Water in a Petri Dish?

The Southern California Coastal Water Research Project (SCCWRP) and the Orange County Sanitation District recently announced that as of December 2019 they had completed the first year-long phase of monitoring the effect of constituents of emerging concern (CECs) in treated waste water effluents. The research included the use of bioanalytical screenings, specifically bioassays that tested for the presence of bioactive contaminants within water samples.

What makes bioanalytical screenings of interest are their sophisticated yet targeted approach to screening recycled water. Rather than requiring laboratory professionals to test for each individual contaminant to determine presence and approximate risk, bioassays screen for total bioactivity for a given pathway or mode of action, allowing analysts to characterize potential cumulative effects on the organisms without necessarily needing to know all the components of the samples. They are a meaningful counterpart to common testing methods, as they account for the fact that contaminants often work together additively, synergistically, or antagonistically to produce an effect that is harmful to ... read more. 

Lab Accreditation: State Board to Consider Proposed ELAP Regulations

On May 5^th the State Water Resources Control Board will consider a resolution to adopt the proposed Environmental Laboratory Accreditation Program (ELAP) regulations. Board action on ELAP regulations will be the culmination of a long and arduous journey to reform and improve environmental lab regulation, and ultimately the reliability of environmental data produced in the Golden State.

Babcock would like to recognize and applaud the outstanding work of the Division of Drinking Water Lab Accreditation Program staff and the contributions of the laboratory community.

For more information please see the October article Lab Accreditation: ELAP Publishes Proposed Regulations.

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