Network of Wastewater-Based Epidemiology

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Making a difference for public health

Wastewater surveillance

It doesn’t really matter whether you call it wastewater-based disease surveillance, wastewater-based epidemiology, wastewater monitoring for public health, or something else: testing untreated wastewater for pathogen markers provides valuable public health information. But wastewater surveillance can’t happen without wastewater utilities. This website provides the information and tools that utilities and their health department partners need to enable sustained utility participation in wastewater surveillance programs.

WEF’s activities with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Explore what we are doing

Free autosamplers and flow meters

National Wastewater Surveillance System Utilities Community of Practice

Community of practice for wastewater surveillance in correctional facilities

Onsite wastewater testing pilot programs

Dedicated to enhancing wastewater surveillance accessibility for all utilities, we’re always in action—holding community of practice calls, providing free autosamplers and flow meters, running workshops and trainings, planning the Wastewater Disease Surveillance Summit, coordinating rapid testing pilot studies, and developing pathogen-specific factsheets and other no-cost resources to make it happen.  

Find an event

Pathogen facts sheets

Wastewater Disease Surveillance Summit

Workshops and trainings

Utility engagement toolkit for health departments & laboratories

Meet the Utilities Community of Practice Advisory Council

As the larger of the two communities of practice hosted by WEF, the National Wastewater Surveillance System (NWSS) Utilities Community of Practice (CoP) is designed to promote sharing of lessons learned among utilities to accelerate the implementation of wastewater surveillance to support public health decision making. The activities of the NWSS Utilities CoP complement the other two NWSS CoPs: the NWSS Health Departments CoP hosted by the CDC and the NWSS Laboratories CoP hosted by the Association of Public Health Laboratories. WEF relies on the input from the Utilities CoP Advisory Council (CoPAC)—an incredible group of dedicated utility, academic, government, and association wastewater surveillance experts—to provide strategic guidance on the CoP mission, goals, objectives, structure, and governance.

Dan Gerrity

Utilities CoPAC Chair

Scott Bessler

Utilities CoPAC Vice Chair

Anna Mehrotra

Utilities CoPAC WEF staff representative
Learn more about the CoPAC

Resources for all

Let us help you get the information you need

For Utilities

Listen to our Sewer Signals podcast or watch our Sewer Stories videos to hear your peers share their wastewater surveillance experiences. Read our four-step wastewater surveillance roadmap for wastewater utilities. Find out about our free autosampler and flow meter program. Catch up on our latest pathogen fact sheets. And learn more about the NWSS Utilities Community of Practice, including how to join. 

For Health Departments & Labs

Learn more about the barriers utilities face when participating in wastewater surveillance programs. Find strategies, best practices, and resources for forging strong partnerships with wastewater utilities. Get up to speed on wastewater terminology with our Wastewater 101 video series. Find out the latest about our rapid, onsite testing pilot programs.

For Everyone

Click through the FAQs on wastewater surveillance and browse our library of infographics, recent news, and learn about training and workshop opportunities. And make sure to view the U.S. CDC NWSS site for more resources and background information.

What utilities are saying

Testimonials

"[T]he workshop was fantastic. It was great to hear all the different perspectives on the challenges with monitoring wastewater."
Attendee2023 Wastewater Surveillance Utility Needs Workshop
"The small group activities were very engaging and encouraged creative collaboration! There was a perfect mix of presentations and group work, then followed by the site tour. I enjoyed the opportunities for everyone to present their findings and build on other groups' work. This was also a great networking opportunity."
Attendee2023 Wastewater Surveillance Utility Needs Workshop
"It was great to talk to the utility members in person. The workshop was very well structured event with representations from all different stakeholders. The theme and the objectives were very clear. I wish there was more time for free discussion."
Attendee2023 Wastewater Surveillance Utility Needs Workshop
“I’m glad [the Utilities Community of Practice] is going and shaping things and is a forum for people to communicate and share ideas on this topic. It’s so new … that’s exactly the kind of group that needs to exist at this stage in the game.”
Blair CorningSewer Signals Podcast - Season 2 Episode 4
"I wanted to thank you all for an excellent workshop. I loved all the short talks, and think they were meaningful and appropriate for the audience. The small group work was concrete and structured well so people could really dig in and interact across groups/perspectives. And the discussion was facilitated so respectfully, appropriately, and thoughtfully, I think everyone felt listened to and learned a lot."
Attendee2023 Wastewater Surveillance Utility Needs Workshop
"The Town is most grateful for your generous grant of an auto-sampler for our sewer plant. We are in the midst of an overpriced update that our sewer users cannot afford, so this needed equipment is a blessing."
Recipient2024 Autosampler Program
Thank You So Much!!! We received our new sampler today in good condition. The guys here are acting like they received a new train set on Christmas! This sampler is truly a beauty and expands our sampling capabilities greatly! I can't thank you enough!
Recipient2024 Autosampler Program
We are in receipt of the Auto Sampler and the Flow meter. Everything arrived today, and was expertly packaged for the trip. I am just so incredibly grateful for this equipment. This will allow us to utilize the portability of the sampler out in the collection system to investigate source loadings throughout the community. All of the accessories that were included will allow us to begin sampling by the end of this month. Thank you so much for such a “first-rate” grant program!
Recipient2024 Autosampler Program

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