Statewide wastewater monitoring in planning as an early warning system for Corona outbreaks

Tiefensee presents a funding grant of 370,000 euros to the project partners, Analytik Jena and Weimar’s Bauhaus University

Jena, 20. October 2021 – A comprehensive state-wide wastewater monitoring system is to be developed for Thuringia, which will allow for the early recognition and limitation of Corona outbreaks. In a joint research project, Analytik Jena GmbH and Bauhaus University of Weimar will seek to further develop available processes and technologies for the testing of municipal wastewater, adapt it to the state of Thuringia, and carry out a pilot phase. The monitoring system could also be used in the future to detect different viruses and antibiotic-resistant and other microbiological residues. The Ministry of Economics will support the project with around 370,000 euros, as presented to both project partners today by Minister Wolfgang Tiefensee. Weimar’s Bauhaus University already received a grant of around 60,000 euros in July for the procurement of the lab equipment needed in the project.

As Tiefensee explained: “The establishment of a wastewater monitoring system can help recognize outbreaks of infection earlier and predict them more precisely.” Within the framework of the research project, over 1000 wastewater samples from 20 treatment plants – covering around a third of the population of the state of Thuringia – will first be analyzed and evaluated over the course of eight months. Suitable extraction points have already been identified over the past few weeks. The analytical data will be digitally stored and provided to different institutions and the health authorities in particular. Analytik Jena will, moreover, test and further develop current analysis techniques for SARS-CoV-2 in its practical operations. As Tiefensee added: “The goal of the project is, using the example of Thuringia, to expand capabilities in wastewater analysis and develop recommendations for action towards introducing it across the entire state.”

Prof. Dr. Silvio Beier, head of the Bauhaus Institute for Infrastructure Solutions at the Bauhaus University of Weimar, noted that “the grant will make it possible for us to go down new paths in water and wastewater research, while also providing a direct benefit to the region.” The university could then continue to expand on its competence in the area of wastewater-based epidemiology. This is not only of great significance in the face of the current health situation but also with regard to future developments. As Prof. Dr. Winfried Speitkamp, President of the Bauhaus University of Weimar emphasized: “The project demonstrates how top-level scientific research at the Bauhaus University of Weimar contributes towards finding solutions to current issues facing society.”

Analytik Jena GmbH is the industrial partner in the project, with the long-term aim of statewide monitoring. As the company’s CEO Ulrich Krauss explained: “We are able to make a contribution towards this together with the state and in cooperation with the Bauhaus University as our research partner. This is an opportunity for us to use our findings to develop our analysis solution further.” He added that Analytik Jena was well positioned with its highly automated solutions for wastewater-based epidemiology, which is a topic of great societal relevance in the future – both regarding SARS-CoV-2 and with the potential to detect other pathogens.

Ulrich Krauss, Wolfgang Tiefensee and Prof. Silvio Beier