SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. — Seminole County is now teaming up with the city of Altamonte Springs to test sewage for the coronavirus.

What You Need To Know

  •  The city of Altamonte Springs has been testing its sewage for COVID-19 for about a year

  •  It will now be testing wastewater from two of Seminole County's wastewater areas

  • Officials say testing the sewage can help predict a spike in COVID-19 infections about a week before it happens

Altamonte Springs has been testing sewage for about year, and adding Seminole County sewage samples will give area leaders a clearer picture of the spread of COVID-19. 

The sewage flowing into the Altamonte Springs regional sewer plant has become an important part in fighting the coronavirus.

“What happens here is we accept the sewage in — it comes to us from residents — we serve about 80,000 people,” said Altamonte Springs City Manaqer Frank Martz.  

Martz also become knowledgeable in testing sewage for traces of coronavirus. 

“We can tell how much prevalence the virus has in our sewer system," he said. "That’s an important piece of information." 

Martz said the virus dies when it enters the sewer system, but they test for what the virus leaves behind. 

They analyze the sewage from several Seminole County cities, and the testing can help predict an uptick in cases about 7 days out, he said. 

“That information allows the hospital providers, the state Department of Health and other health care providers in the area to be ready and anticipating the possibility of upticks,” said Martz.  

With the sensitive testing technology, they now know around 78% of people in the sewage plant’s service area don’t know they have the coronavirus.  

They’ve also detected the more transmissible U.K. variant. 

Since January, Altamonte Springs has been testing for the variant and officials they have seen a rise in positive results.

Currently, anywhere from 15-25% of positive cases are the more transmissible variant.

“Being able to identify that it’s in our community allows our community to be more diligent with its PPE protocols and the distancing,” said Martz.  

And now, Seminole County is sending samples from two of their sewage treatment areas to the Altamonte Springs lab. 

It will allow them to test sewage from around 135,000 people — giving them a clearer picture of how the virus is spreading. 

Altamonte Springs is one of the few utilities in the U.S. testing sewage for the coronavirus.

Martz hopes what they’ve learned through this process will help create better protocols for the future.

“We are now part of the National Surveillance Program, which will allow the national policy makers to develop better and more robust protocols for future pandemics,” he said.