Nicole Hancock
Indigenous community hosts full moon ceremony ...

Kristen Villebrun and Wendy Bush hoped they wouldn't have to pray for Chedoke Creek, but four years after they first raised alarm about the water's condition, they were part of an Indigenous full moon ceremony to do just that. About 50 people showed up near Princess Point on the dark and frigid Monday evening for the monthly ceremony, which was particularly special as it focused on Chedoke Creek. The body of water that runs into Cootes Paradise had about 24 billion litres of sewage and storm water runoff leak into it due to a gate being left open.

Indigenous community hosts full moon ceremony to heal Chedoke Creek

Omicron

COVID-19 levels decline in Saskatoon and Prince Albert wastewater samples

COVID-19 levels decline in Saskatoon and Prince Albert wastewater samples

Researchers at the University of Saskatchewan say levels of COVID-19 were down in Prince Albert and Saskatoon in the latest tests of wastewater samples. Researchers with the university's Global Water Futures program have been analyzing wastewater samples from Saskatoon, North Battleford and Prince Albert for COVID-19 since summer 2020. The study's results can help predict a rise or fall of COVID-19 diagnoses about a week in advance. The latest samples show the week-over-week SARS-CoV-2 viral RNA load in Saskatoon's wastewater decreased by 36.2 per cent.

Wastewater study indicates COVID-19 levels low in Sask. despite small regional upticks

Wastewater study indicates COVID-19 levels low in Sask. despite small regional upticks

The ongoing study of wastewater in an effort to track the prevalence of COVID-19 in Saskatchewan's larger communities has recorded among some of the lowest levels of viral load since January, according to the researchers behind it. The Global Institute for Water Security has been regularly testing wastewater samples in Saskatoon, Prince Albert and North Battleford. The viral loads in each city are based on an average of three measurements over the week and measure the number of particles, in the tens of thousands, in 100 mL of sewage. The result provides insight into how much virus that causes COVID-19 is in a community — often a cautionary report before a more tangible rise in case numbers and hospitalizations.

Waste water in London, Ont. is showing high COVID positivity

Waste water in London, Ont. is showing high COVID positivity

Waste water data has become a valuable asset in determining the level of COVID-19 within a community and in London, it shows an increase. The January surge of Omicron quickly dissipated in February, but COVID cases have seen an increase in the last few weeks based on data from waste water testing data. “You don't want to look at one sample in isolation, you want to look at sort of the trend. And what I've noticed is if I look at the month of February versus the month of March, we're around three times higher,” said Chris DeGroot, an assistant professor at Western University.

Resurgence of COVID-19 in Saskatoon, Regina worries wastewater researchers

Resurgence of COVID-19 in Saskatoon, Regina worries wastewater researchers

A group of researchers at the University of Saskatchewan is worried about the numbers coming from the latest wastewater study. Every week, researchers test sewage samples taken from water treatment plants across the province to see whether evidence of COVID-19 is increasing or decreasing. That number is used to predict whether cases of COVID-19 will rise or fall in the future. During the latest sampling period ending March 16, researchers found that numbers were back on the rise.

Evidence of Omicron subvariant BA.2 likely detected in Saskatoon

Evidence of Omicron subvariant BA.2 likely detected in Saskatoon

A toxicology professor at the University of Saskatchewan believes he has found traces of the Omicron BA.2 subvariant, a potentially more-transmissible form of COVID-19, in samples taken in two cities in the province. The Global Institute for Water Security regularly tests wastewater samples in Saskatoon, Prince Albert and North Battleford for evidence of COVID-19 in an attempt to determine whether case numbers are expected to rise or fall. The findings are then handed over to the provincial government and other researchers.

Waste-water study gaps leave many regions in the dark over COVID-19

Waste-water study gaps leave many regions in the dark over COVID-19

Waste-water surveillance indicates the Omicron surge in COVID-19 cases appears to have plateaued or even begun to fall in major cities across British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario, but this type of monitoring is carried out on less than two-thirds of Canada’s population. Sampling sewage to find population-level transmission trends is one of the most reliable methods of tracking the spread of COVID-19 as the swift spread of Omicron has swamped testing regimes across Canada.

Latest COVID-19 wastewater study shows sharp increases across Sask.

Latest COVID-19 wastewater study shows sharp increases across Sask.

The latest information from researchers at the University of Saskatchewan and University of Regina shows that evidence of COVID-19 continues to increase in wastewater samples. On Monday, researchers at USask's Global Institute for Water Security said samples showed a 810.9 per cent increase in viral RNA load in Prince Albert compared to the previous week.

Newest waste water data indicates explosion in COVID viral load in North Battleford, Prince Albert

Newest waste water data indicates explosion in COVID viral load in North Battleford, Prince Albert

The University of Saskatchewan's waste water statistics have been updated, and they show a huge rise in COVID-19 viral load in each of the three cities it monitors: Saskatoon, North Battleford and Prince Albert. Saskatoon's numbers were up 172 per cent, based on averages of two individual daily measurements in this reporting period, which went up to Jan. 2, according to the University of Saskatchewan's reporting on its website.

Omicron was in Nova Scotia wastewater before it was identified in South Africa

Omicron was in Nova Scotia wastewater before it was identified in South Africa

New data from researchers at Dalhousie University show that Omicron was in Nova Scotia wastewater weeks before it was identified by the province — and even before the new COVID-19 variant was reported by South Africa. Graham Gagnon, professor, and director of the Centre for Water Resource Studies confirmed in an email that: “Our team detected Omicron , retrospectively, in Nova Scotia wastewater in mid-November and will be able to provide further information in the future.”

New data shows Omicron was in Nova Scotia wastewater in November

New data shows Omicron was in Nova Scotia wastewater in November

A research team at Dalhousie University started detecting Omicron in Nova Scotia wastewater weeks before the COVID-19 variant was officially confirmed in the province. "It was surprising to us to see a viral signal in early November. Only in retrospect were we able to see that it was a variant and not the original," said Prof. Graham Gagnon, director of the Dalhousie University Centre for Water Resource Studies.

Wastewater samples can be useful tool as COVID-19 testing declines in Canada

Wastewater samples can be useful tool as COVID-19 testing declines in Canada

With some jurisdictions limiting PCR testing for COVID-19 and others increasingly overwhelmed by diagnostic demands, experts have stressed that daily case counts no longer paint the full picture of viral levels within communities. But what we flush down the toilet may give us a better understanding of COVID-19's prevalence. Researchers across the country have been undertaking wastewater surveillance since early in the pandemic, looking for trace amounts of the virus in sewage to see how it's spreading.

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