Wastewater Infrastructure: Development of Data and Data Standards

CoVaRR-Net Researchers

Doug Manuel, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Wastewater Surveillance Research Group Director, Pillar 8 Deputy, and Project Lead

Robert Delatolla, University of Ottawa, Wastewater Surveillance Research Group Member, Pillar 5 Deputy
John Giesy, University of Saskatchewan, Wastewater Surveillance Research Group Member
Mary Jessome, CIEDAR (CoVaRR-Net’s Indigenous Engagement, Development, and Research Pillar 7) Research Manager and CIEDAR representative to the CoVaRR-Net Wastewater Surveillance Research Group
Chrystal Landgraff, National Microbiology Lab, Wastewater Surveillance Research Group Member
Chand Mangat, Public Health Agency of Canada, Wastewater Surveillance Research Group Member
Nazeem Muhajarine, University of Saskatchewan, Wastewater Surveillance Research Group Member, Pillar 8 Co-Lead
Ioannis Ragoussis, McGill University, Wastewater Surveillance Research Group Member, Pillar 5 Lead
Jesse Shapiro, McGill University, Wastewater Surveillance Research Group Member, Pillar 6 Co-Lead
Amina Stoddart, Dalhousie University, Wastewater Surveillance Research Group Member
Peter Vanrolleghem, Université Laval, Wastewater Surveillance Research Group Member

Lay Summary

The Public Health and Environmental Surveillance Open Data Model (PHES-ODM) is a dictionary and set of tools to support the collection and use of wastewater and environmental surveillance data, including data on the SARS-CoV-2 virus and variants. It provides a singular and unified way to record and store data so that wastewater-based surveillance data and metadata can be compared and aggregated across different research teams and public health departments. The Model was developed with Year 1 funding but will be expanded in Year 2 to include the addition of variants, mutations and sequencing. The team will also make it cross-compatible with other dictionaries such as CDC news, Biobot, and Wsphere.

The Public Health and Environmental Surveillance Database (PHESD) is a data repository used to store Canadian and international wastewater and other environmental surveillance data using the PHES-ODM format. As uptake of the model grows, the database will hold more data that will be kept open and accessible to the public. Keeping data storage centralized in this way will shrink the time between measurement and analysis and provide more data for better modeling, better collaboration, and better tools in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

Although some Canadian public health departments have dashboards to share wastewater surveillance data with the public, data from the National Microbiology Lab and provincial health authorities are not yet publicly available. This project is also focused on maximizing data sharing and access in open data repositories.

Budget

$100,000 cash contribution