3 ms·

Wastewater hits in SF reported back in June: SF Chronicle: https://www.sfchronicle.com/health/article/h5n1-avian-flu-san-francisco-19489217.php https://www.sfc

Wastewater hits in SF reported back in June: SF Chronicle: https://www.sfchronicle.com/health/article/h5n1-avian-flu-san-francisco-19489217.php https://www.sfchronicle.com/health/article/h5n1-avian-flu-sa... LA Times: https://archive.is/VSjBB https://archive.is/VSjBB

ethbr1 2y ago
Part of the article's suggestion is to better differentiate monitoring points, so as to divide farm-related hits from urban hits. That said, in cities that have combined storm and sewer system, the latter is a lot more difficult. But in general, it is a uniquely politically-palatable continuous monitoring solution. The public doesn't want to think about what happens underneath a toilet or drain, so no one cares if someone is sampling and testing it.
- Terr_ 2y ago
  Also, it's not so finely-grained that it seems like a privacy problem.
- worstspotgain 2y ago
  SF has a combined sewer system, but it has zero farms. One question is whether it was more likely to be a signal from wild birds (into the runoff system) than humans (into the sewer.) There's very little rain in the summer months, the average for July rounds off to 0.0in. I don't remember if there was any significant rain in May or June, but I'd be surprised if it was more than 1-5% of the total. I guess there's lawn irrigation, though.
  - dredmorbius 2y ago
    SF has pretty limited lawn irrigation as well. Depending on how the sewerage system is divided, some parts of the city have effectively none.
    - worstspotgain 2y ago
      There are three sewersheds [1] but we don't know which one the signal was detected in (or do we?) If it was the Northpoint one (~ NE quadrant) there aren't as many lawns there. There are a few small parks, street cleaning and whatnot. [1] https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CID/DCDC/Pages/COVID-19/CalSuWers-Dashboard.aspx https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CID/DCDC/Pages/COVID-19/Cal...

ethbr1 2y ago

Part of the article's suggestion is to better differentiate monitoring points, so as to divide farm-related hits from urban hits. That said, in cities that have combined storm and sewer system, the latter is a lot more difficult. But in general, it is a uniquely politically-palatable continuous monitoring solution. The public doesn't want to think about what happens underneath a toilet or drain, so no one cares if someone is sampling and testing it.

Terr_ 2y ago
Also, it's not so finely-grained that it seems like a privacy problem.
worstspotgain 2y ago
SF has a combined sewer system, but it has zero farms. One question is whether it was more likely to be a signal from wild birds (into the runoff system) than humans (into the sewer.) There's very little rain in the summer months, the average for July rounds off to 0.0in. I don't remember if there was any significant rain in May or June, but I'd be surprised if it was more than 1-5% of the total. I guess there's lawn irrigation, though.
- dredmorbius 2y ago
  SF has pretty limited lawn irrigation as well. Depending on how the sewerage system is divided, some parts of the city have effectively none.
  - worstspotgain 2y ago
    There are three sewersheds [1] but we don't know which one the signal was detected in (or do we?) If it was the Northpoint one (~ NE quadrant) there aren't as many lawns there. There are a few small parks, street cleaning and whatnot. [1] https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CID/DCDC/Pages/COVID-19/CalSuWers-Dashboard.aspx https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CID/DCDC/Pages/COVID-19/Cal...