Dataset of illicit drugs consumption through wastewater during and post COVID-19 in San Pedro de la Paz, Chile.

This dataset was generated to apply the wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE), for the first time, in a Chilean municipality to quantify community-level illicit drug consumption using standardized sampling and analytical procedures. The study selected four metabolites (benzoylegnonine, THCCOOH, Anfetamine and MDMA) of illicit drugs present in wastewater to measure in LC–MS/MS and converted, through back-calculation, into normalized estimates of consumption that are comparable across time when similar protocols are used. To evaluate this, 24 h composite samples were collected at the San Pedro de la Paz Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) in two distinct periods: (i) during COVID-19: twelve days in August 2021 and; (ii) Pos-COVID-19: weekly sampling from September 2022 to October 2023.
All samples were collected, preserved with sodium metabisulfite, stored at 4 °C, and processed within three days to ensure consistency across both sampling periods. The data were then normalized using wastewater flow rates and the estimated population served by the WWTP to obtain consumption estimates expressed as mg/day/1000 inhabitants. The data show the presence and quantification in population-normalized mass load (PNML) of drug metabolites in each sampling event. Users can examine the data as a normalized consumption values for population-level comparisons. These data can be interpreted as measurements of metabolite loads entering the WWTP during defined 24 h periods. Researchers may use the provided normalization approach to compare with other WBE studies. The dataset can also be reused to integrate with epidemiological information, or perform temporal and cross-regional comparisons using standardized WBE metrics.