Erie wastewater shows meth up nearly 26% this summer, health officials say
Editorial illustration — Press Pass USAErie County health officials say wastewater samples from this summer showed a sharp rise in methamphetamine, with concentrations up 25.9% from June through August compared with the same months last year, while overall levels of high-risk substances rose 14.7%.
“It confirms what we have been hearing, that cocaine use has been consistent and methamphetamine use is going up,” said Erin Mrenak, director of the Erie County Department of Health. Cocaine and methamphetamine are by far the illicit drugs found in the highest quantities in the county's wastewater samples, according to the department's data.
County officials are also concerned about fentanyl, which is picked up in samples at low amounts. “We are seeing fentanyl picked up in samples at low amounts, but it's so lethal that even a little fentanyl in the wastewater can be a lot,” said Lauren Mathis, an epidemiology research associate for the health department.
Samples from the past two years also show a rising amount of naloxone, the medication used to rapidly reverse an opioid overdose — a rise that could indicate an overall increase in opioid use, according to the department's report.
The health department has monitored high-risk substances such as cocaine and fentanyl in wastewater since June 2024 and began publishing the data on its website in June 2026; it published a report on the data in September. The figures cover the area served by the Erie Wastewater Treatment Plant: the city of Erie, Wesleyville, Lawrence Park Township, parts of Millcreek and Harborcreek townships, and portions of several other municipalities. The county's Office of Drug and Alcohol Abuse relies on the data to aim its resources more precisely, said director Jeanette Redenius.
Sources: Erie Times-News via GoErie (Oct 29, 2026); Erie County Department of Health.
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