VHB and Ringling College Partner to Tackle COVID-19 Concerns on Campus

Contact Tracing Via Residence Hall Wastewater Testing Can Help Control Spread of Virus

Sarasota, FL (September 2020) — Ringling College of Art and Design in Sarasota recently teamed with VHB, an engineering consultant and design firm with offices along the East Coast, to help devise and implement a system to test wastewater from four residence halls on campus for evidence of COVID-19. This pilot program is intended to enhance the College’s testing efforts, which also include baseline and random testing of students, faculty, and staff. The College’s safety and prevention measures are a particularly important step toward maintaining a risk-mitigated environment on campus now that many students and faculty have returned.

VHB worked with Ringling College of Art and Design’s campus facilities department to identify seven clean-out areas associated with the residence halls with easy access for sampling. Each residence hall houses between 75 to 200 students. Effluent from the dorms has been tested weekly over a seven-week period, and no COVID-19 was detected.

The wastewater testing involves utilizing the same equipment typically used to remotely monitor surface water from storm events for nutrients and bacteria, and does not require in-person monitoring. For the Ringling College of Art and Design project, one subsample was automatically obtained every hour for 24 hours. Those samples were combined into a composite sample and sent to a laboratory which provided results within a few days.

“Campuses like Ringling College of Art and Design are leading the way in effluent testing for the virus, but cities are also taking note,” said Ben Siwinski, Managing Director, VHB Gulf Coast. “More municipalities across the U.S. are acknowledging that, to attract and retain residents, visitors, and businesses, they need to implement programs focused on healthy, smart community design and planning. One of the ways they can do this is through advanced wastewater testing for evidence of disease, opioids, and other threats to public health.”

Advanced testing measures including wastewater sampling for COVID-19 is helping the College monitor the campus for potential spread of the virus.

“This pilot program for early detection has the potential to make a positive impact on our ongoing efforts to maintain the health of our College community,“ said Dr. Tracy A. Wagner, Vice President for Finance and Administration, Ringling College of Art and Design. “We are eager to see how this additional testing complements our current protocols and efforts by our Student Health Center and local medical partners.”

More information about how Ringling College of Art and Design is responding to COVID-19 can be found on the College’s Fall FAQs webpage.