Stantec has partnered with Northeastern University and the City of Somerville on a neighborhood-level COVID-19 wastewater testing program focused on early detection and intervention. The program provides city officials with a more real-time understanding of COVID-19 infection trends at a time when concerns of a second wave of the virus are top of mind in communities across the globe.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the novel coronavirus can be shed in the feces of infected patients. By testing sewage samples from various locations around the city, officials will be able to identify potential outbreaks up to two weeks faster than traditional testing allows.
As stated by Somerville Mayor Joe Curtatone: “Adding wastewater testing to our COVID-19 interventions is like adding a smoke alarm to your house. It provides a warning before the problem gets out of control. This new tool will greatly enhance our ability to detect and contain COVID-19 clusters in Somerville as they emerge. We all know now that widespread testing and contact tracing is critical to controlling the spread of the virus, and the earlier and the more comprehensive the testing is, the better we can reduce virus spread. This program will give us a head start.”
Stantec is committed to advancing the quality of life in communities we serve, a mission that has become even more meaningful as we look for ways to best manage impacts of the virus through our built environment. We are proud to be working with Northeastern on COVID-19 wastewater testing for the City of Somerville, helping the city to more rapidly pinpoint outbreaks.
As Somerville’s on-call engineering firm for sewer work and design, Stantec has in-depth knowledge of the city’s sewer system and combined sewer overflow network. Stantec is overseeing the sampling effort and leveraging their knowledge by aiding in the selection of sampling locations, collection of weekly samples, and interpretation of laboratory results from Northeastern University. For locations where sample collection from sewers will impact vehicular traffic, Stantec is also providing traffic management plans and equipment.
Testing began in September at select areas in the City and is being used in conjunction with the geospatial case data to help inform the COVID Task Force on a weekly basis. Because the samples are collected from city sewer access points, the results are completely anonymous and do not identify any one household or building as a source of infection.