Local Wastewater Tests Show COVID Decline
March 8, 2021
A collaborative effort between the city of Corvallis and Oregon State University researchers has been progressing since July 2020 to monitor city-wide COVID-19 prevalence in a uniquely non-invasive way, and their results may play a large role in future re-openings of schools and business in Benton County.
Dr. Tiffany Garcia and Public Utilities employees collect weekly samples of wastewater at multiple locations from the city’s sewer system, and samples are analyzed in Dr. Taal Levi’s lab on the OSU campus to identify the virus RNA. In contrast with most other COVID detection programs, like OSU’s TRACE project that relies on individuals seeking out tests for the virus, this method of sampling wastewater allows researchers to quantify theSARS-CoV-2 virus in different regions of the city.