The Dirty Business of Non-Aggressive Control:
How Wastewater testing is expanding and setting up a new infrastructure for a Brave New World right in the Heartland.
In Late 2020, the state of Ohio began a pilot program, testing the wastewater of multiple territories for expression of COVID-19 viral gene. According to the official Dot-Gov website, ( https://coronavirus.ohio.gov/wps/portal/gov/covid-19/dashboards/other-resources/wastewater ) According to the program’s website at the time of this writing, the program represents a new efforts to slow viral spread.
“A network across Ohio is studying samples of wastewater to look for the presence of gene copies/fragments of the virus that causes the disease,” The website said. “The initiative is a collaboration between the Ohio Department of Health (ODH), the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (Ohio EPA), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA), the Ohio Water Resources Center (Ohio WRC) at The Ohio State University, and other participating universities, including The University of Toledo, Kent State University, and The University of Akron.”
Samples are taken from key locations within various cities in the state and sent off for testing. The purpose of the program, as stated on the official site, is to give an early warning sign to potential COVID-19 outbreaks. The program postulates that an increase in COVID-19 viral gene concentration could indicate a potential outbreak in an area by up to 7-days before one actually occurs. This early warning system then acts as a preventative “warning signal,” in which readings are sent to local area officials, which can then utilize the information to attempt preventative protocols in order to curb the coming outbreak in an area. Local authorities, such as the police department, will take to social media to post to the public advising the use of masks, social distancing and more, (https://www.facebook.com/ConneautPolice/photos/3019394521650513 ) if an increase in viral gene expression is discovered.
What isn’t mentioned on the official Dot Gov site, nor anywhere in social media, is how the tests are being conducted, what methodology is being used, who is doing it, and where it will go in the future. While these specifics may be different throughout the state, the overall picture remains the same. Samples are collected from the various wastewater treatment plants and sent off to a private contracted lab to conduct the testing. According to an article in the July 21 issue of the Conneaut Courier, a local publication in North East Ohio, ( https://gazettenews.com/index.php?option=com_rsfiles&folder=Courier%20(A%20sec)&Itemid=230&limitstart=15 )
One such lab is Canadian based LuminUltra. The company is a “pioneer” in COVD-19 research and testing, including developing the first “Rapid-onsite test for wastewater” ( https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/hach-and-luminultra-partner-to-deliver-first-rapid-test-for-sars-cov-2-in-wastewater-301235904.html ) and was instrumental in assisting the Canadian government with testing supplies in the early days of the pandemic, providing nearly 500,000 tests per week to Trudeau’s government ( https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/luminultra-will-supply-500-000-covid-19-tests-per-week-to-canadian-government-874342760.html ).
Among all of these accolades and press-releases, you will be hard-pressed to find the lab’s technical specifics on things like methodology. Thankfully, their site does make mention of a qPCR methodology for wastewater testing, though how this may differ from standard PCR is unstated. Additional unstated points are things like cycling threshold. When asked these questions directly, the lab states their test parameters are a private matter, between the company and the clients, and differ from sample to sample. In this case those who are being tested, i.e. the people of the state, have no way to know what those specifics are. Whether the local government even knows these things is also unclear. On their end, they will receive a report indicating an uptick in viral gene expression, then forward it to decision makers and authorities to inform the public. Much like the PCR test itself, you would only receive a yes or no answer, either up, down, or no increase.
Fortunately, this program is a joint partnership, and while the lab may not want to discuss how it conducts its affairs, claiming client safety and privacy, there are other ways to get this information. A source from the planning side of this program stated that qPCR method is essentially just PCR. There is no discernible difference in how the test is conducted. The main difference between a nasal swab test and the wastewater test is that the wastewater sample is first purified. The sample is purified to remove human urine and feces, washing machine water, shower, dishwasher water, sink water, and more from households, as well as industrial wastewater and runoff. Once the RNA is separated from the other contaminates, it is placed inside the PCR machine with a “standard” of other RNA samples, provided by another lab. Standard samples may include 100,000 viral RNA copies, 10,000 RNA copies, 1,000 RNA copies, 100 and 0. Once it is all put into the machine, it is left to amplify over a period of about 45 minutes. While the exact cycling threshold is not known, it is theorized by this source it could be anywhere from 30-40 cycles. Technicians then take the readings and calculate back how many RNA copies the wastewater sample contained based on the standard. The results are reported as gene copies/reaction and can be calculated to gene copies per Liter of wastewater. So, in other words, they estimate. That estimation is based on the comparison between the standard amplification rates and the actual sample they collected. If you are reading this thinking the methodology is all very hypothetical, you will be further concerned by the official Dot Gov site, which echoes the very same sentiments as Association of State and Territorial Health Officials , or ASTHO (https://www.astho.org/COVID-19/Detection-of-COVID-19-in-Wastewater/). It is not currently known how much viral shedding people actually do in their waste.
So, to recap, you have a test based on shaky accuracy (PCR), from a lab that will not disclose their cycle threshold, which varies test to test, utilizing a rough estimate of amplification based on the mathematical equivalent of “eyeballing” at a standard, all looking at samples that will have varying gene expression on the outset because no one really knows how much viral gene someone can or does excrete in their feces or urine. This information is being utilized by local authorities to guide restrictions, mandates, and more. With such an amazing and accurate testing method that can give “early warning signs of COVID-19,” The Department of Health asked itself, “why not expand this pilot program?” According to Alicia Shoults with Ohio Department of Health, the COVID wastewater testing program is currently funded in Ohio through 2023, and discussions are currently underway to expand the program to include other “pathogens of interest,” including Influenza. Will these expanded tests lead to government restrictions for flu outbreaks or the common cold? How about something more timely, like Monkey Pox? Could we eventually see social media posts warning of a pending flu outbreak in our area based on viral gene expression in the wastewater, thus justifying a government lock-down to prevent further spread?
If one was interested in maintaining a testing parameter of a population that didn’t even require them to go to a doctor’s office, or even report sickness, this wastewater program would be perfect. Communities don’t even need to participate, outside of flushing their toilets. But what of all those rural communities that run on septic systems? Well, there is an answer to that too.
It is called Rule 3701-29-19, and was signed by the State of Ohio in 2015. The legislation outlines perimeters of testing of local septic systems, by the Ohio department of health representatives, to determine if said system is leaky, or posing a hazard to the environment. Despite being signed back in 2015, it is only now being rolled out, with rural communities across the state soon to get knocks on their door by the local health departments to determine if their septic systems need to be replaced. The test is conducted by placing a tab of dye in the toilet and flushing it. If the health department rep. sees evidence of dye in your yard when they come to check up on your tank, it means the tank is bad. Anyone currently living with a septic system knows the expenses involved in repairing or replacing a bad tank are significant. If enough systems are in need of repair, local communities are currently discussing the option to expand the city sewer systems to accommodate the new need. This expansion can be funded, at least in part, by the American Rescue Plan, the Federal COVID-19 Stimulus Package. Now all those pesky, faulty tanks can be replaced with clean, efficient sanitary sewer systems, and join the system of testing (https://gazettenews.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=15840:bad-tanks-get-theflush&catid=43&Itemid=221).
I suppose if we wake up ten years from now and find ourselves in a new lock-down, unable to leave the house without an injection because of “increased flu presence in our area,” we can think back to the early 2020’s and realize the cornerstones of the new gulag were put in place right under our bottoms.