A small Saskatchewan city is reporting a high level of methamphetamine concentrations in its wastewater, based on a per capita wastewater analysis conducted by Statistics Canada between 2022 and 2023.
The City of Prince Albert contained more traces of meth per capita in its wastewater between March 2022 and May 2023 than any other city in the county, and by a long shot, noted the agency.
Researchers discovered anywhere from 935 to 2,406 milligrams of meth per 1,000 people per day in Prince Albert’s sewage.
“Drug use in Canada has become a significant public health concern, with opioid use, addiction, and resulting deaths standing out as particularly pressing issues,” reads the Statistics Canada report.
“In the context of the ongoing opioid crisis in many parts of Canada, wastewater data can provide information to contribute to a better understanding of current drug use and emerging trends.”
Saskatoon had the next highest levels, which ranged from 586 to 1,147 milligrams per 1,000 people daily, with those samples collected from August 2022 to November 2023.
The study was called “Levels of Drugs in the Wastewater of Canadian Cities” and it tested the effluent for traces of 10 different drugs.
Sewage was tested in Halifax, Montreal, Toronto, Saskatoon, Prince Albert, Edmonton, and Metro Vancouver for traces of 10 different drugs over that period.
According to Statistics Canada, the wastewater samples were collected from water as it entered wastewater treatment plants across seven consecutive days during the second week of every month.
Each batch would be then sent to Health Canada’s Toronto laboratory for testing.
Prince Albert’s meth levels were nearly triple the national averages, with cities like Halifax, Montreal and Toronto exhibiting the lowest, followed by Vancouver and Edmonton.
The City of Prince Albert stopped its wastewater collection after May 2023.
Additionally, the agency tested for fentanyl, the most prominent factor in drug overdoses across Canada.
Metro Vancouver was found to have the highest levels of norfentanyl, a metabolite of the lethal opioid fentanyl.
“Norfentanyl is a byproduct of fentanyl breakdown in the body that can be detected in wastewater to estimate fentanyl consumption,” reads the report.
“Fentanyl is an opioid drug of particular concern, as it was implicated in more than 80% of apparent accidental opioid toxicity deaths in 2023, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada.”
Norfentanyl levels in Vancouver sewers were four to five times higher than in all other studied cities throughout 2022 and 2023.
The next two cities with high Norfentanyl levels were Toronto and Edmonton, while Halifax, Montreal, and Saskatoon reported very low levels last year.
“For Saskatoon, this represents a notable decrease compared with 2022, when levels were more like those seen in Edmonton and Toronto,” reads the report.
Statistics Canada noted that differences in the drug loads may be affected by the size and configuration of a particular city’s sewer system, their biological conditions, leaks, or additional chemicals introduced from commercial and industrial activities.
“As such, these results should be interpreted with caution,” reads the report.
