Sewage Systems & COVID-19 | NYSeptic.com
Onsite sewage system service providers and installers who clean out septic, holding and pump tanks along with aerobic treatment units, and perform operation and maintenance and repairs are commonly exposed to untreated wastewater that contains disease-causing organisms including pathogens, which are primarily bacteria and viruses. When a septic system professional is working on a system, it is unlikely to know what specific disease-causing organisms are in the wastewater, including COVID-19. COVID-19 concentrations and survival in feces, sewage or water are currently unknown. The virus that causes COVID-19 has been detected in the feces of some patients diagnosed with COVID-19. The amount of virus released from the body (shed) in stool, how long the virus is shed and whether the virus in stool is infectious are not known. According to research conducted by the Washington On-Site Sewage Association, the aerosolization of s ewage through standard methods of pumping pose the