Events and Training
Last updated April 5, 2024
WEF offers free wastewater-based surveillance (WBS) workshops and customized training programs, including both virtual and in-person events. We also organize a free, one-day Wastewater Disease Surveillance Summit that can be attended virtually or in person. In addition, our large annual conference WEFTEC has some WBS-related programming. Click on one of the buttons below to learn more.
In-Person Workshops
Cross-Sector Workshops
In 2024 we will be running four in-person workshops in each of the four NWSS Centers of Excellence (CoE) regions in collaboration with the U.S. CDC. The dates and locations for the workshops are below. These workshops are free to attend, and limited funds are available to reimburse attendees for their travel costs. Curious about which region you are in? Check out EPA’s map here. Please email nwbe@wef.org if you are interested in attending the workshop in your region, or even a workshop that’s outside your region!
| NWSS CoE | EPA/HHS Regions | Date | Location | Tentative Topic |
| Houston | 4 & 6 + all ELC-funded cities | May 21, 2024 | Rice University, Houston | Program resource optimization and data actionability |
| California | 9 & 10 | June 5, 2024 | Stanford University Redwood City campus | Utility support and public health communication |
| Colorado | 2, 7 & 8 | June 25 & 26, 2024 | University of Denver | Program sustainability |
| Wisconsin | 1, 3 & 5 | July 24 & 25, 2024 | University of Wisconsin, Madison | Communication, ethics & data use case studies |
In 2023, we ran in-person workshops in each of the ten EPA/HHS regions in collaboration with the U.S. CDC and EPA. These workshops were focused on identifying barriers to utility participation in wastewater surveillance programs and solutions for overcoming those barriers. We appreciate the 300+ attendees from health departments, utilities, government agencies, non-governmental associations, and universities who generously shared their ideas with us. Your insights will be used to improve wastewater surveillance programs in the U.S. Find more information about the 2023 workshops, including a summary of workshop outputs, on this dashboard.
WEF Member Association and Other Conferences
WEF’s wastewater surveillance work will be featured at some of our member association (MA) conferences, too, as well as conferences convened by other organizations. These conferences are a good opportunity for members to learn more about, and engage in meaningful discussions on, wastewater surveillance with others in their state or region. Upcoming events are shown in the table below.
| Organization | Date | Topic |
| Water Environment Association of Utah (WEAU) | April 23-26, 2024 | Wastewater Surveillance 101 and Case Studies |
| North Carolina Waterworks Operators Association | May 2, 2024 | Wastewater Surveillance 101 with State Program Updates |
| Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists Annual Conference | June 9, 2024 | Wastewater Surveillance Workshop: Building Wastewater Surveillance Epidemiology Capacity |
Custom Training
We can develop and deliver a customized one-hour, half-day, or full-day WBS training session to suit your organization’s needs. These can be training sessions for your program partners or lunchtime webinars for your members and can cover a range of topics including: an overview of WBS, wastewater treatment plant and health department basics, factors that influence wastewater results, sampling specifics, thinking beyond COVID, or any other relevant topics of interest.
Please email nwbe@wef.org to have a custom training program developed for your organization.
Wastewater Disease Surveillance Summit
Since 2022, WEF has collaborated with the CDC to deliver a free, hybrid event focused entirely on wastewater surveillance each year. These Wastewater Disease Surveillance Summits are open to water and public health professionals, researchers, and others interested in learning about wastewater surveillance best practices, novel applications of this public health tool, and the status of the National Wastewater Surveillance System and the various programs led by state and local health departments.
2024 Registration
The 2024 Wastewater Disease Surveillance Summit will be held on August 12 and 13 in Atlanta, Georgia, and online. It will be free to attend either in person or virtually. Find out more information, including how to register, at this link or by clicking on the image below. Interested in presenting a poster at the event? Please submit an abstract at this link by May 30, 2024.
2023 Summit Recordings
The 2023 Wastewater Disease Surveillance Summit was a one-day, one-track event held in Chicago and online on October 1. Please find the Summit recordings linked below, and the outputs from the breakout sessions — focused on a “deeper dive” into wastewater surveillance program hurdles — here.
Wastewater Surveillance at WEFTEC
Thank you to those of you who attended WEFTEC 2023! Check back here next year for more information on wastewater surveillance at WEFTEC 2024.