THROWTZ THE PANDEMIC HAPPY
PEOPLE HAVE BEEN KEEPING A
WATCHFUL EYE ON COVID MEMBERS.
IN PARTICULAR HOW MANY POSITIVE
TESTS ARE COMING BACK EACH DAY
BUT THE NOT SO FUN NASAL SWAB
ISN'T THE ONLY WAY TO TRACK
CORONAVIRUS IN A COMMUNITY.
FOR THE PAST YEAR A UIC LAB HAS
BEEN TRACKING THE VIRUS THAT
CAUSES COVID IN WASTE WATER.
JOINING US TO EXPLAIN HOW THAT
ALL WORKS AND HOW THE DATA IS
USED OUR COMMISSIONER KIMBERLY
OF THE METROPOLITAN WATER
RECLAMATION DISTRICT, THE AGENCY
THAT MANAGES MUCH OF COOK
COUNTY'S WASTED STORM WATER WAS
AN EARLY PARTNER TO PROVIDING
SAMPLES TO THE LAB.
AND THANK YOU BOTH FOR BEING
HERE US WITH.
>> SO WHY IS TESTING WASTE WATER
A USEFUL WAY TO MONITOR HOW
COVID IS SPREADING?
>> YEAH, BECAUSE TEST SOMETHING
LIMITED, THERE IS LIMITED ACCESS
TO TESTING.
NOT EVERYBODY GETS TESTED.
TESTING TIME, AS MANY OF US
KNOW, IT COULD TAKE TWO DAYS TO
GET RESULTS, AND NOT EVERYBODY
HAS ACCESS TO IT.
THE OTHER THING IS PEOPLE DON'T
GET TESTED -- MAYBE ONLY GET
TEST IF THEY HAVE SYMPTOMS.
AND WASTE WATER CAN CAPTURE THE
ENTIRE COMMUNITY, NOT
NECESSARILY PEOPLE WHO ARE JUST
SYMPTOMATIC OR JUST SEEKING OUT
TESTS.
>> AND COMMISSIONER, WHAT KIND
OF DATA HAVE PUBLIC HEALTH
OFFICIALS BEEN ABLE TO GLEAN
FROM THESE SAMPLES?
>> WELL, FIRST, THANK YOU FOR
HAVING ME.
I WANT TO TELL YOU WHAT
METROPOLITAN WASTE WATER
DISTRICT DOES AND WHY IT'S
IMPORTANT TO US.
WE'RE AN AGENCY THAT WAS FOUND
OVER 130 YEARS AGO AND TASKED
WITH MAKING SURE OUR FRESH WATER
SUPPLY STAYS SAFE BY MANAGING
WASTE WATER AND STORM WATER AND
PROTECTING OUR FRESH WATER
SUPPLY, SPECIFICALLY LAKE
MICHIGAN.
SO WHEN WE ARE PROCESSING THE
WASTE WATER, IF WE CAN IDENTIFY
POCKETS OF WHERE SOME OF THE
VIRUS IS FORMING, IF WE CAN DO
OUR PART IT COULD HELP END THE
PANDEMIC.
>> PROFESSOR PORETSKY, TELL US
HOW THIS WORKS.
YOU TAKE A SAMPLE OF WASTE
WATER, I DON'T KNOW, IN A SEWER,
AND THEN TEST TO SEE FOR TRACES
OF COVID-19?
HOW DOES IT WORK?
>> EXACTLY.
SO WE'VE BEEN PARTICIPATING WITH
MWRD SINCE THE START, WHICH HAS
BEEN AN EARLY ADAPTNER THIS, AND
REALLY MARCH 2020 WHEN THE
PANDEMIC BEGAN HERE.
AND WE GET SAMPLES FROM THE
WATER RECLAMATION FACILITIES
THAT WWRD MANAGES THROUGHOUT THE
CITY, WE HAVE A COUPLE OF SEWER
LOCATIONS, WE HAVE SOME
CONGREGATE LIVING FACILITIES
THAT WE'RE SAMPLING, O'HARE
AIRPORT, A NUMBER OF SITES
AROUND THE CITY.
SO IT DEPENDS ON THE SAMPLE,
EITHER WASTE WATER OR SEWER
SAMPLES, AND WE BRING IT BACK TO
THE LAB AND WE LOOK FOR THE RNA,
WHICH IS THE GENETICS MATERIAL
OF THE VIRUS THAT CAUSES COVID.
SO WE QUANTIFY THAT AND GET
NUMBERS OF HOW MUCH THERE IS IN
THE WASTE WATER SAMPLES.
>> AND IF I COULD JUST ADD TO
THAT.
>> YEAH, GO AHEAD.
>> COVID-19 IS DETECTABLE IN
HUMAN WASTE SEVERAL DAYS PRIOR
TO SYMPTOMS.
SO, YOU KNOW, WHEN THAT HAPPENS,
IF WE CAN IDENTIFY THESE
OUTBREAKS BEFORE PEOPLE EVEN
HAVE SYMPTOMS, IT HELPS US TO
REALLY ISOLATE WHERE SOME OF
THESE OUTBREAKS MAY OCCUR.
>> PROFESSOR, IS THERE AN
EXAMPLE OF AN AREA WHERE YOU
WERE ABLE TO DETECT SPREAD
BECAUSE YOU WERE LOOKING AT THE
WASTE WATER?
>> YEAH.
I DON'T WANT TO CALL -- WE
WORKED DIRECTLY WITH THE PUBLIC
HEALTH AGENCY AND WHEN WE SEE
THREANDZ THERE IS AN UPTICK IN
THE NUMBER OF CASES, WE NOTIFY
IBPH WHO WILL DEPLOY VARIOUS
MITIGATION STRATEGIES, TRY TO
RAMP UP TESTING ACCESSIBILITY,
VACCINATION, AND SO, YES, WE --
THE PUBLIC HEALTH AGENCIES ARE
USING THIS DATA AND RESPONDING.
>> AND COMMISSIONER DU BUCLET,
WHAT ARE YOU MONITORING,
OBVIOUSLY THE RIVER AS IT'S
BEING CLEANED UP BUT WHAT ELSE
DOES MRBD MONITOR.
>> WE MONITOR THE RIVER, WE TEST
FOR FECAL MATTER WITH THE
PARTNERSHIP WE HAVE WITH AN
ORGANIZATION CALLED H2 NOW.
AND AS YOUR VIEWERS PROBABLY
ALREADY KNOW, WHAT THE REVERSALS
OF CHICAGO RIVER IS GOING AWAY
FROM LAKE MICHIGAN INTO INTO
LAKE MICHIGAN AND WHEN WE HAVE
THE CSO DAYS, WASTE WATER GOING
DIRECTLY INTO OUR LAKE.
>> PROFESSOR PORETSKY, ONCE
COVID DIES DOWN, WHAT OTHER
THINGS CAN YOUR LAB TEST FOR IN
PARTNERSHIP WITH MWRD LIKE THIS?
>> YEAH, WE ALREADY HAVE A
PARTNERSHIP RIGHT NOW WITH WMRD
WHERE WE'RE WORKING ON A PILOT
STUDY.
WE SPOKE TO THE UNIVERSITY OF
FLORIDA, AND WE'RE LOOKING FOR
DRUG METABOLITES, OPIOIDS IN
WASTE WATER BUT WE CAN TEST ANY
-- LOTS OF DIFFERENT VIRAL,
BACTERIALS, ANTIBIOTIC
RESISTANCE, A LOT OF OTHER
THINGS, LIKE INFLUENZA, YOU
KNOW, WASTE WATER THEOLOGY HAS
BEEN USED HISTORICALLY FROM
THINGS LIKE POLIO TO SOME OF THE
THINGS THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT
NOW, SO HOPEFULLY THIS WILL BE A
USEFUL PROGRAM ONGOING ONCE WE
GET OVER COVID.
>> COMMISSIONER, IS THIS THE
KIND OF THING THAT MWRD WANTS TO
CONTINUE DOING WITH PUBLIC
HEALTH AGENCIES OR UNIVERSITIES,
THE KIND OF THING IT CAN
CONTINUE DOING BEYOND COVID?
>> YES.
ABSOLUTELY, YES TO BOTH OF THOSE
QUESTIONS.
AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE
TRY TO DO AS A PUBLIC SERVICE TO
OUR RESIDENTS IS TO REALLY LET
OUR RESIDENTS KNOW THAT THEY
SHOULD NOT BE FLUSHING
PRESCRIPTION MEDICINES DOWN THE
TOILET BECAUSE WE CANNOT FILTER
THOSE OUT.
SO TO RACHEL'S POINT, IF THEY
FIND THAT IN OUR WASTE WATER, IT
COULD CERTAINLY END UP BACK IN
OUR FRESH WATER SUPPLY, SO IT'S
REALLY IMPORTANT TO MAKE SURE
THAT THAT TYPE OF MESSAGE GETS
OUT TO OUR CONSTITUENTS.
AND TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION,
YES, WE DO LOOK FORWARD HAVING
OTHER PARTNERSHIPS WITH OTHER
AGENCIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY.
>> ALL RIGHT, WASTE WATER VERY