Interlaboratory and Methods Assessment of the SARS-CoV-2 Genetic Signal in Wastewater

This project provides an assessment of the reliability and repeatability of laboratory methods currently being used to test for the genetic signal of SARS-CoV-2 in untreated wastewater. Four key topics are addressed: (1) which laboratory methods are best-suited for producing reliable quantitative genetic signals for SARS-CoV-2, (2) the extent to which laboratories are able to reproduce sample results by following documented quality assurance/quality control procedures, (3) which steps within a given method are most critical to ensure accuracy and precision, and (4) the limit of detection for the recovery of a genetic signal for SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater and how it varies across the available methods. In addition to WRF funds, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation contributed funding to support this project.

A paper on this work was published in Environmental Science: Water Research & Technology; and is available at https://pubs.rsc.org/en/Content/ArticleLanding/2021/EW/D0EW00946F#!divAbstract.