The Snyderville Basin Water Reclamation District uses wastewater that flows from local toilets to produce a snapshot of what’s happening in the community.
By calculating from that water how many toilet flushes have happened, District General Manager Mike Luers says there were about 101,000 visitor nights in the past month. That’s down about 7% from the same time period last year, which is consistent with the Park City Chamber’s estimations based on occupancy at hotels.
However, with the arrival of December and abundant early snow, he says there should be many more flushes this month.
The district also monitors how much of the SARS CoV-2 virus is in wastewater. That’s the virus that causes COVID-19.
Luers says Summit County is at an “elevated” level, which is above the “low” and “moderate” levels but not quite “high.”
“I think it's a good reminder that COVID is certainly still present in our community,” he said. “We're picking it up in wastewater, and with an elevated level, a little bit of extra caution would be warranted by all of us.”
The district has measured COVID with wastewater since April 2020, right after the virus started spreading fast locally. At the beginning, it did so as part of a test of the approach, which has also been used to measure other diseases worldwide.
Now, it’s used across the state, and Luers calls it one of the most effective ways of tracking the virus in a given community.
“I think if you'll talk to the health department, they'll tell you that the case count numbers are not really reliable because people often test at home now, and if they're positive, they stay home, and it's never really reported. So, this is a good way to get a snapshot of the overall levels of SARS CoV-2 virus here in the Park City area,” he said.
The Snyderville Basin Water Reclamation District collects samples for testing at its sites in Jeremy Ranch and Silver Springs.
According to Luers, health departments across the state place nearly every region in Utah in the “elevated” category for COVID found in wastewater.
