Funding given to sewage monitoring scheme led by Bangor University to flag early signs of coronavirus

A pilot programme which will flag early signs of the coronavirus in Welsh communities by monitoring sewage systems, has been awarded almost half a million pounds.

The frequent monitoring of COVID-19 levels at waste water treatment plants can offer a signal of the infection rate in the community and provide early signs that the virus is present.

The World Health Organisation is clear there is currently no evidence that coronavirus has been transmitted via sewerage systems.

The Welsh Government has awarded the funding to a consortium led by Bangor University, working with Cardiff University, Public Health Wales and Dwr Cymru Welsh Water.

They will develop a monitoring programme that can measure the presence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in wastewater.

The presence of SARS-CoV-2 in human waste is common in almost all confirmed coronavirus cases.

The pilot programme will be funded for an initial six months and sampling will begin almost immediately in a small number of water treatment plants, rapidly expanding to up to 20 treatment plants that cover approximately 75 per cent of the Welsh population.

Whilst monitoring for coronavirus, the systems established will also be able to determine whether other types of respiratory viruses are also present, which will help public health monitoring.

The Minister for Health and Social Services, Vaughan Gething, said: “To halt the spread of the coronavirus we need to measure it within our communities and monitor changes.

“This pilot programme will allow us to develop an early warning system to provide signals on the levels of coronavirus infections in the community.

“This will complement our wider public health programmes, including testing.

“The funding provides the opportunity to build upon existing strengths and partnerships that we have in Wales in environmental sciences, disease surveillance and pathogen genomics.

“I’m pleased to be working with partners from across Wales.”

Professor Iwan Davies, Bangor University Vice-Chancellor said: “I’m delighted that the ground-breaking environmental monitoring work, which combines different areas of expertise at our College of Environmental Science & Engineering, is to contribute to the nation’s vital work to protect communities against Covid-19 and further outbreaks of coronavirus and other infectious viruses.

Steve Wilson, Welsh Water’s Managing Director of Wastewater services, said: “We are very pleased to be part of this pilot programme which will play such a crucial role in helping to identify the presence of coronavirus in an area in future.

“This will build on the successful partnership we already have with Bangor University on the research they undertook into the presence of traces of the virus in wastewater.

“This will also build on the strong working relationship we already have with Cardiff University.”