ALS offers a complete service for sampling and testing of both wastewater and storm-water.
How can ALS help?
Services & Parameters
- Sample collection
- Heavy metal, organic and wet chemistry analysis
- Microscopic examination of activated sludge to assist operators in maintaining sewerage plant performance
- Trade waste discharge suitability
- Assist in the preparation of annual reports for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
- Total Toxic Organics (TTOS)
- Semi-Volatile Organics and Pesticides
- Cyanide
- Chemical Oxygen Demand
- Biochemical Oxygen Demand
- Total Suspended Solids
- Title 22 Metals
- Sulfides (Total and Dissolved)
- Oil and Grease
- Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons
- Typical parameters for Stormwater
- Nitrate as N
- Nitrite as N
- Cyanide
- Chemical Oxygen Demand
- Biochemical Oxygen Demand
- Total Suspended Solids
- Title 22 Metals
- Oil and Grease
- Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons
Suspected hazards may include:
- Extreme pH values
- Analytes present at concentrations greater than 10%
- Strong or noxious odors, vapors
- Asbestos
- Highly saline water
- Biological hazards
Please let the laboratory know when you are sending hazardous samples, so we can take precautions to keep our staff safe.
Wastewater testing for SARS-CoV-2
Regular and on-going monitoring of wastewater effluent can provide an early indication of SARS-CoV-2 outbreak in populations, possibly while occupants are asymptomatic but potentially contagious. Real time, quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction testing for the virus responsible for COVID-19 can provide trend data indicative of viral load over time. The ALS wastewater testing method to detect SARS-CoV-2 detects and confirms SARS-CoV-2 by targeting two genome sequences in accordance with WHO recommendations.
Wastewater Sampling for SARS-CoV-2
A time-weighted composite sample requires the collection of multiple sample aliquots of equal volume collected at a consistent time interval over a specific period of time. Composite sampling is more reliable because it is representative of the waste stream over time.
A flow-weighted composite sample is the most reliable and the preferred method of composite sampling because it is collected over time and it is proportioned based on flow volume. When flow-weighted composite sampling is performed, many more sample aliquots are collected when the discharge is flowing at 200 gallons per minute as opposed to when only 10 gallons per minute are being discharged. This sampling method results in a more representative composite sample as compared to a time-weighted sample.
Sampling frequency should be based on monitoring objectives and risk profile. Daily composite samples are recommended. Factors to consider when determining test frequency include:
- Local community viral spread statistics
- Severe: sampling 3x/week
- Significant: sampling 2x/week
- Moderate: sampling 1x/week
- Normal: sampling 1x/every two weeks
It may be necessary to review construction drawings or engage a consultant to determine optimal location(s) and testing frequency. Accessibility, security, and power availability (although most auto samplers can run on 12V batteries) should also be considered.
Wastewater should be collected using a composite autosampler over a time period representative of the population profile (e.g.: 100 ml sample draw per hour over 24 hours). Collection can be either flow-proportional or time-dependent (e.g.: a 24-hour operation should be sampled over a 24-hour period. A site that operates for only 8 or 16 hours should sample during those hours only.) The sample is called a composite sample because it is made up of many individual subsamples taken over time. The sample to be sent to the lab is subsampled from the composite sample into the supplied 250 ml bottle.
Sampling point(s) should be prior to treatment and selected such that they capture the wastewater outflow from the population to be monitored.
- wastewater line cleanout ports
- manholes just prior to city/municipal sewer lines
- influent points to a wastewater treatment plant