Researchers are trying to devise and conduct testing to help provide accurate estimations of the spread of the COVID-19 disease. Some are focusing on examining wastewater for indications of the reach of the pandemic. Wastewater is a good indicator of the chemistry inside us, so coronavirus tracking efforts at water treatment plants should yield valuable information, says Fulton Schools Professor Rolf Halden, an environmental health engineer. Wastewater-based monitoring is likely to reveal about more about how widely the virus is circulating than testing individuals, Halden says.