sewage

In far south St. Louis County, workers are using huge machines to dig a $175 million tunnel. It’s part of a Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District project aimed at preventing sewers from overflowing. That could allow the district to treat all of the region's wastewater and protect the environment.

As fewer people are getting tested for the coronavirus in offices, labs and pharmacies, sewer shed surveillance has become one of the most accurate ways to show the virus still exists in the community. The state and its partners at the University of Missouri are monitoring 112 sites to see if viral particles are increasing and if new variants are emerging in the region's wastewater.

Residents of the former city of Centreville (now Cahokia Heights) have for years dealt with flooding and sewage overflows. Residents feel ignored — and financially trapped — after decades of inaction by officials.

Scientists at the University of Missouri and their partners at the state health department have uncovered trace amounts of genetic material from the more contagious mutated virus in 15 of the 23 state watershed testing sites they have reviewed so far.

Missouri health and environmental officials will soon test wastewater statewide to determine where and when coronavirus outbreaks could occur. Researchers…