Access to sanitation is a human right, yet approximately 2 billion people worldwide still lack basic services altogether. Adequate wastewater collection and treatment reduces the transmission of disease, protects the environment from harmful pollutants, and can be leveraged to monitor community health. Systems vary widely, thus, the way we measure pollutants from these systems must also reflect those differences.

Lorelay’s research measures viral RNA and nutrient levels across a broad range of sanitation systems to improve wastewater surveillance and support equitable access to safe sanitation for all. First, she studies the diurnal variability of pollutants at a wastewater treatment plant in California. Second, she measures viral RNA decay in fecal sludge from fecal sludge treatment plants in Dakar, Senegal. Third, she analyzes the impact failing on-site sanitation systems have on people and the environment in rural Alabama.