Ohio Coronavirus Wastewater Monitoring Network: Implementation of Statewide Monitoring for Protecting Public Health.

Abstract

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, wastewater influent monitoring for tracking disease burden in sewered communities was not performed in Ohio, and this field was only on the periphery of the state academic research community. Because of the urgency of the pandemic and extensive state-level support for this new technology to detect levels of community infection to aid in public health response, the Ohio Water Resources Center established relationships and support of various stakeholders. This enabled Ohio to develop a statewide wastewater SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2) monitoring network in 2 months starting in July 2020. The current Ohio Coronavirus Wastewater Monitoring Network (OCWMN) monitors more than 70 unique locations twice per week, and publicly available data are updated weekly on the public dashboard. This article describes the process and decisions that were made during network initiation, the network progression, and data applications, which can inform ongoing and future pandemic response and wastewater monitoring. Overall, the OCWMN established wastewater monitoring infrastructure and provided a useful tool for public health professionals responding to the pandemic.