Upcoming events

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

On April 29, 2021, the Water Security Division will conduct a one-hour webinar for drinking water and wastewater utilities titled, “Prepare for Supply Chain Disruptions: Building a Resilient Water Sector.” This webinar will provide an overview of the carbon dioxide supply chain and the potential threats to this supply that occurred early in the pandemic. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will discuss the interdependencies between the water and chemical sector and provide tools and resources to assist utility staff with developing more resilient supply chains. A representative from the Department of Homeland Security will discuss commodity concerns, specifically the use, availability, and distribution of carbon dioxide in the water sector. Finally, Des Moines Water Works will provide lessons learned from a potential carbon dioxide disruption as a result of a local ethanol plant closure in Iowa.

Wastewater monitoring for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is an emerging public health tool to understand COVID-19 spread in a community. This is because SARS-CoV-2 can be shed in the feces of infected individuals from both symptomatic and asymptomatic cases, eventually ending up in the wastewater. The objectives of this project were to (i) develop and implement methods to monitor SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater and (ii) examine the levels of the SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater facilities in Southeast Louisiana and develop key relationships with cases in the community to support public health decisions to manage and prevent the spread of the disease. Weekly composite wastewater samples have been collected from 5 wastewater treatment plants for the analysis of SARS-CoV-2. The results and experience of monitoring SARS-CoV-2 in wastewaters in 4 cities in Southeast Louisiana will be presented.

CLICK HERE TO JOIN

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION