Sedgwick County is using a new tool to combat overdose deaths in the community: wastewater monitoring.
Wastewater monitoring became popular during the pandemic to track COVID levels in the county.
Now, the county is using that same technology to track what it’s calling “high-risk substances” in almost real-time.
The substances include fentanyl, cocaine, methamphetamine and nicotine.
“When we get data from [the Kansas Department of Health and Environment] it’s always a year or so behind. And the federal government, sometimes it can be two years behind,” said Adrienne Byrne, the county’s health director.
“This is real time. They … have the lab equipment to really analyze this in a way that we know which drugs have a higher usage in an area because of the wastewater plants.”
Sample testing and analysis is done through BioBot Analytics. While the data can be used to help understand which areas of the county may have higher usage rates of a particular substance than others, it can’t be narrowed down to a single source.
Byrne said the data can help the department target specific areas in the county for naloxone and fentanyl test strip distribution if officials see a spike in fentanyl or other substances.
“That usage might not be as high as it's going to be,” she said, “and so … there might be able to be some prevention in there as well.”
Along with naloxone distribution, awareness and educational events can also be done at area schools.
“There's still a lot of people that aren't aware that opioids, and drugs in general … we have those problems here in Sedgwick County.”
BioBot also has the capability to track xylazine levels in wastewater. Xylazine is an emerging drug, normally used as a horse tranquilizer, that’s being mixed into other substances.
“[Xylazine] is here,” Byrne said. “This will give an idea of how much.”
Other counties and local governments are using wastewater monitoring for substances and learning more about use in their area.
A program in Cary, North Carolina, found that Narcan, an overdose reversal drug, was being used at a higher rate than previously known.
It began equipping first-responders with the lifesaving drug and saw a drastic decrease in on-scene fatal overdoses.
The Sedgwick County pilot program, which costs the county about $48,000 to start and maintain for a year, will last until mid-July. Beyond that, its future is uncertain.
“I'm not sure that we'll be able to do that long term because of the cost,” Byrne said.
