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UC San Diego Detects Coronavirus in Wastewater Samples From Five Areas of Campus

/in , , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Gary Robbins

UC San Diego says it detected traces of the novel coronavirus in five areas of campus over the weekend after it greatly expanded its search for the pathogen in wastewater samples drawn from dozens of buildings.

The positive tests could involve as many as 14 residential halls and two laundries. But school officials also said Tuesday the findings also could represent only a small number of sites and very few infections.

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UCSD Detects COVID-19-Causing Virus in Multiple Wastewater Samples on Campus

/in , , /by /KPBS-FM/TVby City News Service

UC San Diego Chancellor Pradeep Khosla on Tuesday alerted students, faculty and staff that the university’s wastewater monitoring system detected SARS CoV-2 — the virus which causes COVID-19 — in multiple sites on Sunday and Monday.

“Our early detection system identified active virus in the wastewater outflow in the five campus areas from 11 a.m. on Sunday, November 22 to 1 p.m. on Monday, November 23,” Khosla said.

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How Testing Sewage Could Help Slow the Spread of COVID-19

/in , , /by /KCRA-TV (Sacramento)by Marlei Martinez

All across the country, counties, colleges and other communities are now testing sewage to monitor the spread of the novel coronavirus. According to experts, COVID-19 can show up in wastewater about a week before people even show symptoms.

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Testing in an Effort to Flush Out the Coronavirus

/in , , /by /NPRby Elissa Nadworny

Twice a week, mathematics professor Andrea Bruder squats in the sewage tunnels below South Hall, a mostly freshman dorm at Colorado College. She wears head-to-toe protective gear and holds a plastic ladle in one hand and a to-go coffee cup in the other. Bruder hovers above an opening in a large metal pipe and patiently waits for a student to flush.

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In a Dry State, Farmers Use Oil Wastewater to Irrigate Their Fields, but is it Safe?

/in , , /by /Inside Climate Newsby Abby Weiss

For decades, farmers in California’s Kern County have turned to wastewater from oil production to help irrigate their crops during extended dry spells. The wastewater provides an alternative to groundwater, which has become increasingly scarce as farmers have pumped more than they could replenish.

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A New Kind of College Exam: UCSD is Testing Sewage for COVID-19

/in , , /by /Voice of San Diego by Randy Dotinga

Turds tell tales, and UC San Diego is listening.

As the beginning of the school year nears, the university is preparing to ramp up its testing of sewage for the coronavirus. The goal: Monitor the progress of the pandemic on campus and catch outbreaks before it’s too late to control them. Along those lines, UCSD on Saturday sent out its first campus-wide email alert about the detection of the virus in sewage from one of its seven colleges.

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Two Projects Promise Cross-Border Sewage Relief for South Bay Region

/in , /by /KPBS San Diegoby Erik Anderson

The Environmental Protection Agency is spending $25 million on two projects to help stop the flow of cross border sewage and trash.

EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler met with state and local officials Wednesday to discuss the persistent problem and to announce two short-term solutions would move ahead.

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Water Groups Call for More Funding as Way to Pull Nation out of COVID Recession

/in , /by /Engineering News-Recordby Pam McFarland

Decades of inadequate investment in water infrastructure has exacerbated the economic challenges faced by water and wastewater utilities in the era of COVID-19, according to a new report released Aug. 26 by the American Society of Civil Engineers and the U.S. Water Alliance’s Value of Water Campaign.

 

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A Quick, Cost-Effective Method to Track the Spread of COVID-19 Through Untreated Wastewater

/in , , /by /Smart Water Magazineby Hokkaido University

A group of researchers have demonstrated that, from seven methods commonly used to test for viruses in untreated wastewater, an adsorption-extraction technique can most efficiently detect SARS-CoV-2. This gives us another tool to detect the presence and spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Napa Sanitation District Harvests Napa’s Sewage Sludge for Fertilizer

/in , /by /Napa Valley Registerby Barry Eberling

Dredging is common in navigable waterways, but the project underway at the Napa Sanitation District property in southern Napa County is a little bit different.

The dredging is taking place in a vast sewage treatment pond. And the material being removed is biosolids, which is another way of saying sewage sludge.

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