Ontario officially ended its COVID-19 wastewater monitoring program today in a move that some public health experts described as shortsighted.

Dr. Fahd Razak, former scientific director of the COVID-19 Ontario Science Table, said the province's decision is "incredibly disappointing."

Razak explained that wastewater testing provides an early indication of when COVID-19 cases and other viruses will rise.

He noted that monitoring wastewater in dozens of communities across Ontario is beneficial not only for detecting COVID, but also for monitoring potential threats, including the arrival of the H5N1 avian influenza virus.

The Ontario Ministry of the Environment stated that it is "winding down" its program as the Public Health Agency of Canada expands wastewater monitoring sites in the province.

However, a spokesperson for the Public Health Agency of Canada says it only plans to test in four cities in Ontario in addition to its current four sites in Toronto, which will not replicate the regional program.

Anna Madison said in an email message on Tuesday evening: "The scope of the expansion will not replace the current scope of Ontario's program."

"The decision by Ontario not to continue the wastewater testing program was not coordinated with the decision by the Public Health Agency of Canada to expand the wastewater monitoring program."

Alex Cathrowood, press secretary to the Ontario Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks, said in an email that the provincial government “will work with the federal government and propose sampling sites that provide high-quality data for public health across the province."

Madison confirmed that additional federal wastewater monitoring is expected to begin before the flu season this fall.

Razak, an epidemiologist and internal medicine specialist at St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto, said many communities will now not have the virus monitoring they need, as (wastewater monitoring) provides rapid information to be able to act. "So, knowing you have a lot of COVID cases in the hospital, it's too late to act in many ways."

Razak continued, "We now know that the signal from wastewater - not just for COVID, but for example for respiratory syncytial virus - provides an early warning system when disease shows up, giving individuals enough time to change decision-making processes or for public health units or officials to respond."

Razak said wastewater testing sites covered nearly three-quarters of Ontario's population in 2023 and included some targeted monitoring of COVID-19 levels in high-risk settings like long-term care homes or homeless shelters.

He said, "For me, this is an important equity issue."

"This is moving in exactly the opposite direction of what we want in the best public health programs."