Over the course of 2020, Facilities Management teams developed numerous strategies of how to support the University’s academic and hospital operations throughout a pandemic while ensuring faculty, staff and students were kept healthy and safe. To help limit community-wide spread of the virus, these teams shared these lessons learned through publishing research and hosting information sessions.
In the summer of 2020, multiple teams supported Dr. Amy Mathers, an infectious disease physician at UVA Health, and Lisa Colosi-Peterson, an associate professor in UVA’s Department of Engineering Systems, who led the University's effort to monitor residence halls’ wastewater for the presence of COVID-19.
Staff members from Energy & Utilities, Health System Physical Plant and Housing Facilities supported an initial pilot study involving the collection of samples in buildings where occupants were tested frequently to establish a safe, reproducible strategy for wastewater sample collection from residential spaces.
This method was expanded to all residence halls on Grounds for the fall and spring semesters, and in the fall of 2020, Energy & Utilities staff members worked with the Rivanna Water & Sewer Authority, the city of Charlottesville and the Albemarle County Service Authority to access area sewer systems to support community-wide wastewater surveillance.
Utilities Plumber/Steamfitter Assistant Rebekah Thompson accesses an autosampler located outside of the McCormick Road Residence Halls. Utilities Pipefitter/Steamfitter Kristina Williams assists with the sample collections. (Video stills by University Communications)
The UVA team’s research findings were published in the scientific journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology in May 2021, establishing useful protocols for wastewater testing that could be applied in other communities. The research team included Facilities Management staff members Cameron Ratliff, William Simmons, Derek Wilson and Paul Zmick, as well as members of UVA’s School of Medicine, School of Engineering and School of Data Science.
Throughout the summer and fall of 2020, the UVA HVAC Standing Task Force – comprised of Facilities Management staff members Jon Bruneau, Ethan Heil, Doug Livingston, Mike Payne, Keith Poeppel, Paul Stevens, Jesse Warren, Dan Cardwell and Rollie Zumbrunn, as well as School of Engineering Space Manager John Notis and Environmental Health and Safety’s Kristy Davis – closely monitored and analyzed recommendations for HVAC systems and standards, adjusting procedures as needed. Geospatial Engineering Services also supported this effort by mapping the University’s HVAC Zones and ventilation and filtration rates.
In an effort to limit community-wide spread of the virus, the task force hosted a COVID HVAC information sharing and best practices session between UVA, Charlottesville Public Works, Albemarle County Public Schools and Albemarle County Facilities & Environmental Services in January 2021.
“Our task force is staying on top of new technologies that are entering the market, and we will evaluate them to see if they provide any additional benefit to our mitigation efforts,” said Doug Livingston, associate director of Automation Services. “We are also tracking professional and governmental organizations to make sure we are current on best practices. As we review new HVAC systems being installed in buildings under construction, we are applying our lessons learned so our systems can change from ‘normal’ operations to ‘enhanced’ operations.”
Recommendations included updates to the programming of building systems to maximize the outside air ventilation rates as well as installation of high-performance MERV-13 air filters in over 8 million square feet of buildings on Grounds.