NOTE: Neighborhood-level wastewater monitoring in Davis will end on September 30. City-level wastewater monitoring will continue into 2023.
About Wastewater Monitoring
Wastewater monitoring is an emerging public health tool for tracking COVID-19, influenza, RSV and other virus in communities. Since November 2020, the City of Davis and UC Davis have partnered with the Sewer Coronavirus Alert Network (SCAN) to collect and test wastewater samples in Davis.
City wastewater samples are collected daily and analyzed for particles of the virus that causes COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2), which can be found in the feces of infected individuals, including those who are asymptomatic or pre-symptomatic. Using this data, public health officials during the pandemic were able to take action to slow and prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Building on the wastewater monitoring project in Davis, WastewaterSCAN has expanded to monitor influenza, monkeypox, and other infectious diseases. Learn more about the WastewaterSCAN partnership here.
