COVIDWATER: Detection of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater

Alerting on the incidence of SARS-CoV-2 in urban settlements

The COVIDWATER project aims to improve the preventive capacity of the Spanish state in the face of the current COVID-19 epidemic, caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) and sewage networks allow for centralised, population-level monitoring of urban settlements, proving to be a highly useful complement in the epidemiological control of the current pandemic and the prevention of future outbreaks of this disease. This project will make it possible to assess the current state and its evolution until the end of 2020 of SARS-CoV-2 dispersion in the Valencian Community, by creating an epidemiological map that combines experimental results obtained from wastewater analysis, clinical diagnosis data, and other indicators of interest such as socioeconomic and environmental factors.



A value-added aspect of the COVIDWATER project will be the detection of this virus in the treatment processes of a Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP). This is crucial for the global management of the pandemic, as it will be essential to guarantee the non-return of this pathogen to the natural environment.



In a potential second phase of the COVIDWATER project, data will be materialised in digital format through the creation of a digital tool that will provide the information collected on SARS-CoV-2 detection in the different urban settlements of the Spanish state.