We invite you to view this page and the Substance Monitoring Interactive Dashboard to learn about substance use in Allegheny County.
Background
Traditional data to track substance use—such as hospital records, medical claims and overdose fatalities—are delayed and incomplete. These methods also miss the emergence of new substances in communities. To close these gaps in knowledge and service engagement, Allegheny County partners with Prevention Point Pittsburgh and the UNC Street Drug Analysis Lab to provide drug checkingⓘ and Biobot for wastewater surveillance.ⓘ
By combining data on wastewater analysis and drug checking results, Allegheny County has an increased understanding of local trends in the drug supply and in volume of substance use. This information, coupled with the more traditional data on substance use, helps the County make data-informed decisions that enhance the timeliness and effectiveness of substance use prevention, intervention and treatment efforts.
Dashboard Content
The Substance Monitoring Interactive Dashboard has six main sections:
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- Homepage: The Homepage presents the purpose of the dashboard, outlines the gaps in substance use monitoring, and introduces the two core data sources for this dashboard: wastewater analysis and drug checking results.
- Wastewater Surveillance Data is an interactive tab where users can filter by type of high-risk substance, track its presence in wastewater over time, and compare local, regional and national findings.
- PPP Drug Checking Results is an interactive tab that allows users to select substances of interest, adjust timeframes, and compare suspected and actual sample contents.
- About Wastewater Data details the collection and testing process conducted by Allegheny County Sanitary Authority (ALCOSAN) and Bibot, defines parent drugs and metabolites, and includes a brief glossary of some high-risk substances.
- About Drug PPP Checking defines drug checking, describes how Prevention Point Pittsburgh and the UNC Street Drug Analysis Lab collaborate and states the value drug checking provides the community.
- Wastewater Download View is a tab that lets users view and download data on the effective concentration for high-risk substances in wastewater, with filters for substance name, drug type, region and date range.
The data contained in this dashboard serves as indicators of broad trends and emerging risks in the community rather than exact prevalence rates in substance use.
How the County Uses this Information
DHS and its partners use the dashboard to:
- Monitor substance use trends in Allegheny County.
- Supplement traditional data sources to fill gaps in drug tracking.
- Identify emerging risks and make informed adjustments to outreach efforts.
- Coordinate with agencies and providers to deliver timely, targeted harm reduction interventions.
- Compare local data with broader contexts to guide planning and resource allocation.
Trouble viewing the dashboard below? You can view it directly here.
Questions or Feedback?
We welcome your questions and suggestions. To share feedback, you can reach us at DHSResearch@alleghenycounty.us. If you’d like to stay informed, consider signing up for our newsletter. To learn how to use DHS data in your research, please visit our Requesting Data page. Thank you for your time and interest. Your engagement helps shape and improve how we share data that matters.