Longmont is part of a state-wide expansion of COVID-19 testing in local wastewater to include other dangerous pathogens, including salmonella and forms of coli.
The city council this week approved an amendment to its agreement with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment for COVID-19 testing of its wastewater. The CDPHE began testing for COVID-19 in wastewater in August. 2020.
The change in the agreement allows the testing to include “pathogens of concern” through July 2023, according to a city staff report. Those pathogens can include salmonella and Escherichia coli, according to the International Society for Infectious Diseases.
Wastewater surveillance allows public health officials to identify the presence of a virus in a community before receiving results from clinical testing, according to a CDPHE news release. “This method helps estimate disease trends with a community because it can capture data on people who are asymptomatic or may not get testing,” the CDPHE states.
The state’s wastewater testing program now includes 55 utilities and more are joining the program throughout the state, the CDPHE states.
The CDPHE lab will collaborate with the CDC to develop ways to test for other pathogens in wastewater samples supplied by communities, the news release said.
Longmont will be responsible for collecting and preparing for shipment two samples of wastewater a week. CDPHE will cover the cost of the analyses, courier service and will manage the data and provide a public dashboard, the city staff report states.
