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The University of Saskatchewan (USask) and the City of Saskatoon have been honoured for their collaborative聽wastewater monitoring project that advances environmental and human health 鈥� one of 50 international projects named to the 2021 Smart 50 list.
Smart 50 Awards recognize global 鈥渟mart cities鈥� projects, honouring 鈥渢he most innovative and influential work.鈥� The award will be presented at the Smart 50 Awards gala in Washington, D.C., in October.
The award highlights the work of a joint project, funded by the Research Junction partnership between the City and USask, that measured levels of human pharmaceuticals such as antibiotics in Saskatoon鈥檚 wastewater to assess potential risks these chemicals might pose to the downstream environment.聽Research Junction聽awards funding to projects that apply advanced research methods to addressing聽current issues in the city.聽
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020, the partnership took an unexpected turn: USask researchers, together with the City of Saskatoon and the Saskatchewan Health Authority, began measuring traces of SARS-CoV-2, the virus causing COVID-19, in Saskatoon鈥檚 wastewater.
Trace amounts of virus in wastewater is a leading indicator of impending surges in case numbers. By gathering this information, the team and its partners have been able to alert authorities to upcoming trends in COVID cases.聽This project, initially funded by the Global Water Futures program and later awarded funding by the Public Health Agency of Canada, was also part of the award application.
鈥淲orking directly with City staff ensures that our wastewater research tackles some of the most immediate needs of municipalities today鈥攆rom predicting virus trends to understanding potential environmental risks associated with trace contaminants such as pharmaceuticals in wastewater,鈥澛爏aid聽 toxicologist Markus Brinkmann, USask principal investigator on the Research Junction project and a faculty member in the School of Environment and Sustainability.聽鈥淭his partnership is in line with our aspiration to become the university the world needs.鈥�
Mike Sadowski,聽manager of the聽City of Saskatoon鈥檚聽Wastewater Treatment Plant, is the city鈥檚 principal investigator on the project.
鈥淭he City of Saskatoon is pleased to support this award-winning research by the University of Saskatchewan, which is making use of wastewater-based epidemiology to provide valuable information to our local health authority experts,鈥� said Sadowski. 鈥淭his research has helped ensure Saskatoon remains a safe and healthy place to live, learn, work, and play every day.鈥�
The awards are sponsored by聽Smart Cities Connect, Smart Cities Connect Foundation, and US Ignite鈥攐rganizations committed to seeing technology used to improve the quality of life for residents at the municipal level.聽The list includes honourees from around the globe, including two others from Canada: Vaughn and Kitchener, Ont.聽More information about the awards is available here: https://smartcitiesconnect.org/2021-smart-50-awards/
Housed on the聽USask鈥檚 Global Institute for Water Security website,聽the聽latest聽wastewater data can be found here:聽
