Burlington, Vermont in the US has deployed a wastewater-based epidemiology program to detect COVID-19 and contain its spread.
GoAigua, smart water company, has partnered with GT Molecula to deploy a sewer surveillance program to make this initiative happen. The program includes the collection and analysis of sampling data from various wastewater plants and manholes cross the city and then integrating the data into its Sars Analytics platform.
After the data is collected, analyzed and integrated, the results are then combined with health, socioeconomic, demographic and water consumption data in real time.
GoAigu has said that the program will enable them to detect the virus in wastewater at sewershed level as well as neighborhood and building levels potentially. It has also been reported that they are placing a special focus on the city’s high-risk residents by monitoring key areas such as nursing homes.
Carolyn Felix, from the City of Burlington’s Innovation Office, said, “[GoAigua’s] data-centric platform creates actionable, real-time insights that will help us make informed decisions to keep our residents healthy during this difficult time.”