Wastewater Surveillance Cost Analysis for COVID-19 in an Urban Jail

An activity-based cost analysis details the budget impact of implementing a wastewater surveillance program (WSP) for COVID-19 in a large urban jail. The study calculates start-up costs of $29,471 and variable implementation costs ranging from $4,403 to $125,965, depending on the number of positive outflow points and confirmatory testing strategy. It was authored by Victoria L. Phillips and analyzes costs borne by the jail, including investments in PCR and rapid antigen testing.

Use Cases

• Model budget impact scenarios by varying the number of positive outflow points and confirmatory test type (PCR vs. rapid antigen).
• Analyze cost distribution for a WSP, where PCR-testing accounted for 78% of implementation expenditures for a single outflow point.
• Compare total program costs, including the $29,471 initial start-up investment and implementation costs linked to specific cellblocks.

Strengths

• Provides specific cost figures, including a $29,471 start-up total and implementation costs ranging from $4,403 to $125,965.
• Analyzes cost sensitivity to key operational variables like confirmatory test type and sewer configuration.
• Released under a permissive CC BY 4.0 license, enabling reuse and analysis.

Limitations

• The dataset is very small (18.9 KB DOCX file), containing summary analysis rather than granular, row-level financial data.
• Cost estimates are specific to a single large urban jail facility, limiting generalizability to other correctional or community settings.
• The underlying raw data for the cost calculations is not provided, preventing independent verification or deeper analysis.

Provenance

Source

figshare, authored by Victoria L. Phillips.

Collection Method

Activity-based costing analysis of a pilot wastewater surveillance program.

Time Range

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Freshness

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Geography

A large urban jail (specific location not stated).