Fulton Schools Professor Rolf Halden (pictured) and his team at ASU’s Center for Environmental Health Engineering are planning to soon release a report on their studies of wastewater in Tempe that’s expected to provide real-time data about the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in the city. It should enable residents to see information on the city’s website about the levels of COVID-19 infection in specific neighborhoods. Halden says what the contents of Tempe’s wastewater reveal will have implications for Arizona and the country. The analytical techniques used to test the water and the results those tests produce can guide other places in efforts to assess the presence of coronavirus infection in their areas. The findings will help Tempe officials in deciding whether to loosen or tighten public restrictions depending on the prevalence of infection.

See Also: ASU researchers believe sewage gives them a way to track the coronavirus, Fox10 News-Phoenix, April 28