- The FACSA-UJI Chair has organized an online webinar on this subject which will take place on Thursday, January 28th at 3:45 pm
Wastewater is an inexhaustible source of resources and, as has become clear during 2020, also a source of information on the epidemiological situation of different urban settlements, which can be used to improve prevention and public health. The arrival of the COVID-19 epidemic caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus has highlighted the need to find early detection and alert methods to improve the fight against the pandemic.
To address this issue, the Chair FACSA The Innovation in the Integrated Water Cycle Department of the Universitat Jaume I of Castelló has organized a webinar in which representatives from the public sector, the scientific community and the business sector will share their experiences and discuss the study of the sewage for epidemiological purposes.
Thus, the event—which will take place online next Thursday, the 28th, at 3:45 p.m.—will bring together stakeholders from both national and international spheres. From the public sector, the webinar will feature the participation of Pablo Rasero, from the Metropolitan Water Supply and Sanitation Company of Seville (EMASESA); as well as Xavier Fonoll, from the Detroit water agency, the Great Lakes Water Authority (GLWA, Michigan, USA). Both organizations are currently conducting a large-scale study on the detection of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater.
On the other hand, virology experts such as Dr. Gloria Sánchez, from the Institute of Agrochemistry and Food Technology (IATA-CSIC); Dr. Juan Bellido, physician and epidemiologist from the Area of Epidemiology and Public Health of Castelló; Dr. Marisa Rebagliato, from the epidemiology department of the UJI; or Dr. Félix Hernández, from the University Institute of Pesticides and Water (UJI), will explain the most relevant aspects of this type of study, giving a multidisciplinary vision and bringing the field of wastewater-based epidemiology and virology closer to the attendees.
Finally, Núria Zamorano, from FACSA, a company specializing in integrated water cycle management, will share with attendees the main results obtained during the development of COVID WATER, a comprehensive project already underway in numerous municipalities. This project aims to detect and quantify the genetic material of SARS-CoV-2 in the sanitation network and in wastewater treated at wastewater treatment plants. The initiative, which is aiding decision-making during the health crisis, has received funding from the Valencian Information Agency (AVI).
This webinar is part of the activities organized by the FACSA Chair of Innovation in the Integrated Water Cycle. More information and registration: www.catedradelagua.uji.es.
