COVID-19 Wastewater Sampling
Field Sampling
What will KEI deliver?
KEI will meet with you by phone, online conference, or in person, if desired, to discuss your facility’s specific needs. We will then plan your sampling event(s). We will provide a scope of work and cost estimate based on our initial meeting.
General Description of Sampling Plan. Field work will commence based on the sampling plan. KEI will setup and configure a composite sampler at the location of your sanitary sewer discharge to the municipal sewer. The composite sample will be held on ice during collection. After a 24-hour collection period (time dependent on facility specifics), KEI will collect the composite sample in laboratory approved collection containers and again put the sample on ice. After collection, KEI will transport the sample(s) to the laboratory. Turn-around time for laboratory results is expected to be 2-3 business days.
Reporting
Results
- – Presence/Absence of SARS-COV2 in wastewater discharge.
- – Semi-quantitative results that can be used as an indication of the change in viral load over time.
Within 1 business day of receiving results from the lab, KEI will provide a trend analysis report (if multiple samples have been taken on separate dates). According to the Water Research Foundation, it is currently very feasible to detect a rising trend in occurrence and somewhat feasible to detect a decreasing trend.
What may or may not be feasible is tracking disease prevalence in a community and estimating the level of infection of a community. KEI does not propose to track disease prevalence or estimate levels of infection with wastewater testing.
