Macomb County Launches Coronavirus Testing In Sewers

MACOMB COUNTY, MI — Macomb County has launched a pilot project to determine the effectiveness of sampling and studying sewage in an effort to trace coronavirus hot spots, officials announced Wednesday. The sampling process will begin in June.

The county is working with Oakland University and Michigan State University and will provide data to the county health department for review. The project’s ultimate goal is to provide an online public dashboard and to allow local residents to see the data for themselves, officials said in a news release.

“Providing information not only to our medical professionals, but to the public as well, is foundational to fighting this disease," Public Works Commissioner Candice Miller said. "We believe there is a real opportunity here to be a part of the solution and we are working as quickly as we can toward that goal. This ability to detect potential hotspots will be critical as we re-open our economy.”

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The project, which is being funded by federal CARES Act money, is creating seven sample collection sites in Clinton Township. Samples at each site will be collected twice per week. The samples will be specially packaged and sent off for testing. Assuming the pilot project proves successful, Miller said the project can be easily expanded to include other areas throughout the county. The initial pilot is budgeted at $1 million.

“Through this, we hope we can identify if certain neighborhoods or parts of a community where there is a hot spot," Miller said. "Our goal is to provide that information to the health department, so they can better target their contact tracing or other actions they may be able to take to reduce the community risk."

The project will run throughout summer 2020 and then be evaluated for any potential modifications and then further expansion.

“Obviously, this isn’t something our engineers ever thought they would be working on, but our team jumped on this right away and put together a solid plan, utilizing the expertise of our local universities," Miller said. "We believe this project can provide critically needed information to our health care professionals."

The testing strategy is unusual, but it isn't brand new. A recent study out of Detroit began its own attempt to see if sewers can help track viruses such as the coronavirus.