Sewage testing shows spike in coronavirus after holiday weekends

CARMEL, Calif. (KION) The Carmel Area Wastewater District has been testing sewage weekly for coronavirus and is noticing a spike in the virus' presence after holiday weekends.

“Any sort of health issue that you might have in the community eventually comes down to us in the sewer,” General Manager Barbara Buikema said.

Buikema said the goal for the testing is education–to make sure people are informed that the virus is present even though you can't see it.

They have a machine that collects a sample from raw sewage. It gets sent off to a lab for the company, Biobot, on the East Coast which determines the concentration of coronavirus over time.

Buikema said they saw spikes in the presence of coronavirus in the sewage in the weeks after memorial day weekend and the 4th of July weekend.

“While we cannot definitively say that this is the tourist component, I think common sense kind of tells you that people are coming into the area and that may be behind the spike we are seeing,” Buikema said.

While the health department says a lot of transmissions in Monterey County are from people spreading the virus within their household, busy weekends, travelers and people congregating in one area can contribute to the spread.

“As it gets a little crowded, there’s potential for transmission in those setting’s as well,” said Monterey County Health Officer Dr. Edward Moreno.

All the wastewater from Carmel-by-the-Sea and the valley comes into one area so they can’t pinpoint which neighborhoods the virus is coming from. 

The wastewater facility plans to test the water for at least 6 months, and make extend if needed. 

The reclaimed water flows to golf courses, like Poppy Hills and Pebble Beach to water the grass, but it goes through a disinfection and filtration process to make sure that all evidence of the virus is gone.