[Lex Computer & Tech Group/LCTG] COVID levels in wastewater

Robert Primak bobprimak at yahoo.com
Mon Jan 16 18:10:02 PST 2023 

 I live in Waltham. In older parts of our City there are plenty of combined storm and sanitary sewers. There are also communities where in heavy rain events there are still combined sewer overflows resulting in mixed sewage and runoff being discharged into waterways, including the Charles River. The Charles River Watershed Association (CRWA) has been campaigning to get rid of these combined sewers and reduce or eliminate combined overflows, and this effort is ongoing. 
So it is true that runoff can dilute the data on sewage and its contents. This may be relevant to COVID counts in wastewater sampling, and should be considered when referring to this data set. 
In spite of this factor, I still do believe there is sufficient evidence in the data set to say with confidence that there was a spike in COVID counts over this winter, and that this spike is now declining. If this trend continues, this could be good news for those like myself who are still hesitant to attend live indoor gatherings or meetings where masks are not being required. 
I will continue to monitor the data and to make decisions based on the best evidence available, as well as considering official guidance and scientific and medical advice.
Thanks for bringing attention to this aspect of the wastewater data, Ted. 
-- Bob Primak 

    On Monday, January 16, 2023 at 05:26:21 PM EST, Ted Kochanski <tedpkphd at gmail.com> wrote:  
 
 Frank,
I may be ignorant of some things -- no doubt
However -- if you collect water from run-off -- it has to go somewhereEither you dump it into a local water course or you carry it onward to a more remote water course and then you dump itTo the best of my understanding we are not dumping our surface water anywhere along the way as that would be a violation of many regulations due to the oil, and other street waste which has to be treated before you dump it
When I lived in Austin Texas there were developments in unincorp[orated territory on the periphery of the City of Austin hoping one day to become annexed.  The developers procured "packaged Treatment plants" to process the runoff before dumping it into local creels and dry creekbedsThese packaged plants were separate from the variou means including septic tanks and leaching fields used to handle the sanitary waste from the homes in the subdivisions
Lexington has had a sewer system for quite a while and it connect into the MWRA's major sewer interceptors which typically run alongside rivers and streams before ultimately being processed @ Deer Island and dumped into Massachusetts Bay beyond Winthrop
I found this on a Google search of MWRA Lexington sewerits from a presentation on updates to the 2018 MWRA Master plan  -- apparently presented to some official body February 12, 2019https://www.mwra.com/monthly/wac/presentations/2019/021219-masterplan-widescreen.pdf

$73M Programmed in CIP FY19‐28 for Pump
Station/CSO Facility Rehabilitations
― Alewife PS (in construction)
― Castle Island PS
― Cottage Farm CSO
― Prison Point CSO
― Preliminary Design for Next
5 Older Facilities

There is a photo of the Alewife pump station and a high-level system map showing the interceptor connecting through Arlinton to Lexington

However -- despite my spending over 30 minutes searching -- It's actually quite difficult to track down much on the MWRA sewer system
Perhaps we should get someone inside the MWRA to talk to us about it
Ted


On Mon, Jan 16, 2023 at 8:19 AM Frank Sandy <fsandy9 at comcast.net> wrote:

      The sewer system and the storm water drainage system are completely separate in Lexington.   Older systems in some other communities are still partially combined.  However, even in Lexington, there are some people that illegally connect their sump pumps to their toilets and the Town's sewer system.
 
 Frank Sandy
 
 On 1/15/2023 8:44 PM, Bill Haley wrote:
  
 As far as I know the storm water run off system is not connected to the waste water treatment system. 
  Bill 
  On Sun, Jan 15, 2023 at 11:44 AM Ted Kochanski <tedpkphd at gmail.com> wrote:
  
 John, 
  There is a big problem with this data being compared over long periods of time Some of the waste water includes surface run-off and some mostly doesn't hence, since the y axis is a concentration of virus in the water -- if the amount of "active water" from households is diluted by surface run-off because of recent rain or even more complicating melting snow mixed with recent rain -- how can you tell? 
  I suggest that the data suggests that last year there was a real spike and that recently there is just "noise" in the system 
  Ted 
   
  On Fri, Jan 13, 2023 at 8:17 PM <jjrudy1 at comcast.net> wrote:
  
    
Don’t worry about the y-axis, just the shape of the curve.  The article gave no indication as to what is “good”.  In the later graph look at the winter spikes.  The big problem was a year ago.
 
 
 

 
 
 

 
 
 
John Rudy
 
 
 
781-861-0402
 
781-718-8334  cell
 
13 Hawthorne Lane
 
Bedford MA
 
jjrudy1 at comcast.net
 

 
 
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