What’s next for UW researchers as province terminates COVID-19 wastewater testing

A small army of experts at the University of Waterloo (UW) played a central role in collecting data for wastewater testing but the province is bringing the program to an end.

Wastewater testing was a key part of keeping an eye on the spread of COVID-19 during the pandemic.

On July 31, the cross-country network responsible for testing will disband.

“We’re actually taking our last sample in Waterloo on Monday,” said Mark Servos, Canada research chair in water quality protection, and UW professor. “It’s involved 13 different universities, it’s involved government labs, federal labs, provincial labs.”

The province is pulling the plug on its program to avoid duplication with an expanded national testing plan.

UW has had a big hand in gathering Ontario’s data.

“We’ve had over 80 different students involved over the four years,” said Servos.

Now that it’s coming to an end, and sooner than expected, what’s next for people involved?

For Servos, it means a return to his roots.

“Primarily going to go back to studying fish. We’re fish biologists. We just happened to have the tools that were perfect for doing the wastewater analysis,” he said.

The program’s conclusion now means some are looking for work.

“I’ve just been looking for jobs and doing interviews,” said technician Jaycelyn Caklec. “I’m mostly interested in fisheries biology work.”

Others are returning to school to further their education – like Zach Miller.

He began wastewater testing as a co-op student in 2022 and was later hired on full-time as a lab technician.

“I’ll be starting a master’s at the University of Ottawa in September,” said Miller.

Technician Kathryn Williams will also be returning to school at the Michener Institute of Education in Toronto. She said the skills she learned testing wastewater will propel her toward a career as a medical lab technologist.

“The importance of doing routine work, the data analysis, all of the hands-on stuff that we’ve done with all of that, I’m going to take with me,” said Williams.

Meanwhile, Anthony Ng, who is responsible for developing new methods for detecting variants just landed a new job at the university’s start-up incubator – Velocity.

“I will be committed there to oversee the lab operation and help those students bring their ideas into a prototype or even product,” Ng said.

As the vital program comes to a close, those involved see this as a time to reflect and appreciate what they accomplished. They also feel better equipped in the event another public health emergency arises.