City to test sewage for coronavirus

Green River is joining a group of cities in monitoring sewage for presence of the novel coronavirus.

Last week, the city council voted to approved a contract with the Wyoming Department of Health to monitor sewage for the virus. The health department is providing up to $28,000 in funding from the federal CARES Act for sampling and testing.

Testing sewage for evidence of the coronavirus isn’t new to Wyoming. In April, Teton County started sending samples to MIT for testing as it allows scientists and health officers the ability to track the disease.

The concentration of coronavirus found in human waste gives health officials an understanding of how prevalent COVID-19 is within a city, as well as a loose idea of the number of people infected.

“This is something a lot of states are doing,” Public Works Director Mark Westenskow said. “It’s actually becoming quite common.

While the city can easily treat wastewater for coronavirus, Westenskow said sewage sampling and testing is becoming an economic means of monitoring communities for coronavirus infections.

He said health officers can look at the data from sewage samples to determine areas with rapidly raising infection rates.

According to the Wyoming News Exchange, sewage testing was part of the initial discussions about how Teton County would reopen businesses and services. In early May, officials in Cody followed suit and approved the purchase of a sewage sampling device.

Westenskow said the sampling device for Green River cost around $7,000, with the department of health funding $4,000 of that amount. The device was something the city would have needed to purchase for its new wastewater treatment plant.

Westenskow said the city was able to purchase one and spent less than originally projected.

Jason Palmer, the city’s utilities superintendent, Green River is joining the state’s 14 largest wastewater treatment sites in the testing initiative. Westenskow said he isn’t sure when sampling and testing will begin.