Colleges Turn To Wastewater Testing In An Effort To Flush Out The Coronavirus
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Researchers at Colorado College visit South Hall, a mostly freshman dorm, to collect wastewater samples for coronavirus testing.
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Colorado College mathematics professor Andrea Bruder suits up before descending into the tunnels below South Hall. Like so many faculty and staff members at U.S. colleges, she’s redirected her research to focus on COVID-19.
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Bruder (right) and her colleague, environmental science professor Miroslav Kummel, pour wastewater samples from to-go coffee cups outside South Hall.
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In August, the University of Arizona made news for using wastewater testing to help prevent an outbreak. Wastewater testing alerted administrators to the presence of the coronavirus in a dorm, and follow-up testing found two asymptomatic students. This method has also helped identify positive cases at the University of Virginia, the Rochester Institute of Technology and Colorado State University, which has been running a robust wastewater testing program since the start of the fall semester.
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In Fort Collins, Colorado State University has been running a robust wastewater testing program since the start of the fall semester. Researchers regularly collect samples from 17 sites across campus, including the Westfall Hall dormitory.
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A CSU graduate student fills test tubes with wastewater samples outside Westfall Hall.
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CSU graduate student Abbie Modafferi works as a wastewater technician for the school’s coronavirus testing program. «I feel like if we’re really trying to slow the pandemic and help get back to normal, the biggest thing is prevention, she says. «And this is how you do that.
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CSU lab technician August Luc processes wastewater samples for the school. Some colleges outsource this step, but CSU has the space and lab machines to run the analysis in-house.
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CSU’s testing program uses pumps that collect wastewater every 15 minutes over a 24-hour period at dorms like Westfall Hall. Taking samples over 24 hours allows researchers to catch students who go to the bathroom in the morning and those who go after dinner.
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That’s why Andrea Bruder is optimistic about the program she’s piloting at Colorado College, where most students live on campus. She and her team are still working out the best testing sites, visiting noisy facilities rooms in search of the perfect sewage pipe.
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Miroslav Kummel passes off a wastewater sample from the tunnels under South Hall at Colorado College.
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Colorado College hasn’t yet invested in a 24-hour pump, like CSU has. Andrea Bruder has to fetch the samples herself by crawling into dark, damp tunnels and waiting for a flush.
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Colorado College hasn’t yet invested in a 24-hour pump, like CSU has. Andrea Bruder has to fetch the samples herself by crawling into dark, damp tunnels and waiting for a flush.
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It’s still unclear if testing dorm sewage, followed by focused clinical testing, will work as well as widespread testing of all students. Experts say it’s a tool, to be used with many other tools, including random clinical testing, handwashing, mask wearing and social distancing.
For now, it’s offering some college communities a drop of hope, courtesy of No. 2.
Lauren Migaki contributed to this report.
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