The CDC has a portal for the tests to be submitted as a way to determine community spread and hotspots. The CDC says its testing program is important because sewage testing has been successfully used as a method for early detection of other diseases, such as polio. Because nearly 80 percent of United States households are served by municipal sewage collection systems, sewage surveillance can be a leading indicator of changes in COVID-19 burden in a community.
In recent months, the Macomb County Public Works Office has conducted a pilot project by pulling samples from sewers in seven locations in Clinton Township. The periodic samples have been sent to a Michigan State University lab for testing, and results will be released when the data is complete.
The county Public Works Office and the Health Department have now jointly submitted a new application to the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) and the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS), seeking grant funding to expand testing of sewers in Macomb County.
"I'm happy that the state is following our lead and will commit significant funding and partner with local governments in this effort to detect the extent of the presence of the coronavirus, using this innovative method. It's a good expenditure of funds," county Public Works Commissioner Candice S. Miller said. "My office has been on the cutting edge of sewage sampling in Michigan. With our experience thus far, we have offered to take on a leadership role and share the knowledge we have gained this summer, with other municipalities that may land some of the state funding for their own local sewage sampling and testing pilot projects."
In Macomb County, the goal is to provide the information to the Macomb County Health Department to identify potential hotspots of the novel coronavirus in our county, prevent potential outbreaks and to make contract tracing and other efforts more efficient and effective to reduce the spread of COVID-19.
The ongoing sewage sampling conducted in Clinton Township by the Macomb County Public Works Office is funded by a $1 million allocation from the $152 million in CARES Act funds provided directly to Macomb County by the federal government.
The state has invited interested local governments with wastewater treatment systems to apply. State officials expect to establish a standardized and coordinated network of monitoring systems operating by Oct. 1.
EGLE said it will coordinate sample collection, lab analysis, data reporting and communication with local monitoring teams during the state's 3-month pilot program, and provide project support to participating local health departments, including how to integrate local wastewater data with other types of COVID-19 surveillance and public health agency responses. Sewage samples will be sent to Michigan State University for lab testing.
"Since nearly 70 percent of Michigan residents rely on public wastewater systems, this COVID-19 surveillance program has the potential to provide critical, life-saving data on COVID-19 transmission within a large portion of Michigan's population," EGLE Director Liesl Clark said in a statement released by the agency Wednesday. "The ability to predict outbreaks on college campuses, at nursing homes, prisons, and other congregate care facilities could be game-changer in our mission to slow the spread of this virus."
