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.
As part of a commitment to sustainability and environmental action, the governments of Canada and Manitoba are committing $55,000 through the Canadian Agricultural Partnership (CAP) to study the viability of providing an alternative non-potable water source for non-food processing purposes to industrial park tenants in the Rural Municipality (RM) of Portage la Prairie, federal Agriculture and Agri-Food Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau and Manitoba Agriculture Minister Derek Johnson announced today.
Saskatoon is experiencing a rise in COVID-19 levels according to the most recent results from a study that tracks the virus in the city's wastewater. The University of Saskatchewan's Global Water Futures Program has been tracking the virus in Prince Albert, North Battleford and Saskatoon via samples taken from wastewater since summer 2020. Saskatoon's viral load has increased by 85.8 per cent from last week's report and is the highest it has been in the past month, according to the study.
COVID-19 viral loads in wastewater are up in North Battleford, Sask., but down in Saskatoon, the most recent data from the University of Saskatchewan shows. Since the summer of 2020, a group of researchers from the U of S have analyzed wastewater samples from Saskatoon, North Battleford and Prince Albert in search of traces of the COVID-19 virus. However, data is not available from Prince Albert this week because researchers only received one sample from the city's wastewater, which was delivered late, according to an email from wastewater project manager Femi Oloye.
COVID-19 levels are down in both Saskatoon and North Battleford, according to the latest data from the University of Saskatchewan's wastewater study. 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. In the latest report, which covers the week ending in Nov. 2, Saskatoon saw its biggest weekly drop so far, with SARS-CoV-2 levels down 80 per cent.
An ongoing study of COVID-19 levels in wastewater conducted by the University of Saskatchewan has found there are less traces of the virus in some of the cities it is tracking. The University of Saskatchewan and Global Water Futures program have been examining wastewater samples from Saskatoon, Prince Albert and North Battleford since the summer of 2020. Their goal is to track the spread of COVID-19 in the community through wastewater, with their results usually dictating a rise or fall about a week in advance of changes in cases.
The latest wastewater study from the University of Saskatchewan shows COVID-19 viral loads are lingering at lower levels in Saskatchewan's larger communities. The Global Institute for Water Security has been regularly testing wastewater samples in Saskatoon, Prince Albert and North Battleford. Omicron BA.2 remains the dominant subvariant in all three cities.
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.
Researchers at the University of Saskatchewan say COVID-19 levels in Saskatoon have increased again, signalling that the sixth wave is not over yet. On Monday, head researcher and toxicologist John Giesy released this week's COVID numbers, showing a 44 per cent increase from the previous week. "[This confirms] that the viral load is large in Saskatoon, with the second greatest amount ever observed and approximately the same amount as it was a month before," wrote Giesy.
The latest wastewater study from the University of Saskatchewan shows a massive spike in Saskatoon's COVID-19 viral load, signalling the start of a new wave of infections. On Monday, researchers released their latest report, showing a 742 per cent increase in viral load taken from sewage samples in the city. Toxicology professor John Giesy said these latest numbers come after COVID surges in Ontario and Quebec, as well as the UK and China, all driven by the more-infectious BA-2 subvariant of Omicron.
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.
Analysis of Saskatoon's wastewater reveals the city has likely passed the peak of the pandemic's fifth wave which saw the highly transmissible Omicron variant infect thousands of people each week and push COVID-19 hospitalizations to record-breaking highs across the province. "The concentrations of virus are still greater than they ever were during the fourth wave. After bouncing around a bit, they are trending downward," said John Giesy, a University of Saskatchewan professor and principal investigator for Global Water Futures.
University of Saskatchewan toxicologist John Giesy says recent wastewater data shows new COVID-19 cases could be dropping sharply in the next few weeks. According to a study released Monday by the Global Institute for Water Security, samples taken from wastewater plants in Saskatoon, North Battleford and Prince Albert showed a decrease in COVID-19 viral load.
The most recent study from the Global Institute for Water Security at the University of Saskatchewan shows a growing trend of COVID-19 RNA in its wastewater samples. On Monday, the Institute released its weekly report, showing the city's wastewater saw a 118 per cent increase in viral RNA from July 29 to August 4, compared to a week before. Previously, the wastewater studies were able to predict rising numbers of COVID-19 in the city through traces of the virus found in the city's sewage.
