A wastewater surveillance program to monitor COVID-19 levels in communities across New Hampshire has been started by the state's Department of Health and Human Services.

The program will collect data to help track trends in changing levels of the virus over time, and potentially provide an earlier warning signal of rising levels, the department's Division of Public Health Services said in a news release Thursday.

The participating wastewater treatment facilities are in Berlin, Dover, Durham, Hampton, Hanover, Keene, Manchester, Merrimack, Newmarket, Newport, Portsmouth, Plymouth and Sunapee.

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"This is another tool we can use to help monitor COVID-19 spread in our state," said Patricia Tilley, director the division of public health services.

"Wastewater surveillance does not depend on individuals testing for COVID-19, so this new program has the potential to provide additional and earlier insight about COVID-19 in our communities," she said.