TEMPE, Ariz. — The city of Tempe has pioneered a program that will help determine the area where COVID-19 is most prevalent through its sewer system.
The goal? To help stop the spread of the virus.
Steve Estrella and John Dowrick, environmental compliance inspectors for the city of Tempe, took samples from Tempe's wastewater system. They're looking for traces of COVID-19.
"Similar to going to the doctor and getting a blood test and a stool sample, we thought let's do that at a community level," said Wydale Holmes from the Strategic Management and Diversity Office for Tempe.
The sample is bottled up and will be sent to ASU, where researchers will test it for the virus.
"We sample 13 sites three times a week to discover COVID in our sewer and use that data to help form our public health strategies," said Holmes.
The goal is not to target individuals but the geographical area. The data can be used to advocate for more testing and increase education.
You can check out the data on the dashboard page on the city's website.
“What is interesting about the sewer is it doesn't lie. We can pick up traces of COVID in our sewage for people who are symptomatic or asymptomatic. So that helps us stop the spread of COVID-19," said Holmes.