The Utilities Community of Practice

Last updated January 23, 2024

What is the CoP?
What is the CoPAC?
Why join the CoP?
How to join the CoP?

What is the NWSS Utilities Community of Practice?

The National Wastewater Surveillance System (NWSS) Utilities Community of Practice (CoP) is a collaborative for promoting review, synthesis, and sharing of lessons learned among utilities to accelerate the implementation of wastewater surveillance and participation in the NWSS to support public health decision-making. The Utilities CoP is specifically focused on understanding best practices related to:

  • Sample collection logistics, including storage, transportation, and metadata documentation;
  • Communicating with health department and lab partners; and
  • Conveying the value of wastewater surveillance to utility leaders, rate payers, and other stakeholders.

Members of the Utilities CoP share information in three ways:

  • Monthly virtual meetings with informative presentations, success stories, and opportunities to exchange ideas
  • A growing list of relevant resources on this website, including some information that is available to Utilities CoP members only
  • A private SharePoint site with a dashboard, discussion board, calendar, meeting recordings, and more

Did you know? The NWSS Utilities CoP is one of three CoPs convened to support the U.S. CDC in their implementation of NWSS. The other two NWSS CoPs are the Health Departments CoP (hosted by the the CDC NWSS team) and the Laboratories CoP (hosted by the Association of Public Health Laboratories).

What is the CoP Advisory Council?

The Utilities CoP is led by an Advisory Council (CoPAC) of utility, academic, government, and association wastewater surveillance experts. The CoPAC provides strategic guidance on the CoP mission, goals, objectives, structure, and governance.

The 2024 Utilities CoPAC includes:

NameTitle OrganizationCoP Advisory Council Role
Dan GerrityPrincipal Research ScientistSouthern Nevada Water AuthorityUtility representative and Council Chair
Scott BesslerCompliance Services Programs Branch ChiefMetropolitan Sewer District of Greater CincinnatiUtility representative and Council Vice Chair
Bruce AdamsSuperintendent of WastewaterCity of CortlandUtility representative
Blythe LaytonResearch Program ManagerClean Water ServicesUtility representative
Sharon MertensDirector of Water Quality ProtectionMilwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage DistrictUtility representative
Melissa MimnaLaboratory Program SupervisorCity of BoulderUtility representative
Naoko MunakataSupervising EngineerLos Angeles County Sanitation DistrictsUtility representative
Steve RhodeLaboratory DirectorMassachusetts Water Resources AuthorityUtility representative
Crystal RoyLead OperatorCity of Port OrfordUtility representative
Lisa Thompson Chief ScientistSacramento Regional County Sanitation DistrictUtility representative
Lan WiborgDirector Of Environmental ServicesOrange County Sanitation DistrictUtility representative
Ben Yoakum ​Research and Innovation Project ManagerOrange County UtilitiesUtility representative
Aaron BivinsAssistant ProfessorLouisiana State University​, Department of Civil and Environmental EngineeringAcademic representative
Lauren StadlerAssistant ProfessorUniversity of California, Merced Department of Civil and Environmental EngineeringAcademic representative
John PersonEpidemiologist, National Wastewater Surveillance SystemU.S. Centers for Disease Control and PreventionGovernment (NWSS) representative
Martha JohnsonPublic Health Analyst, National Wastewater Surveillance SystemU.S. Centers for Disease Control and PreventionGovernment (NWSS) representative
Smiti NepalEnvironmental EngineerU.S. Environmental Protection AgencyGovernment representative
Michael JahneEnvironmental EngineerU.S. Environmental Protection AgencyGovernment representative
Virginia GuidryBranch Head, Occupational and Environmental Epidemiology BranchNorth Carolina Department of Health and Human Services​Health department representative
Rekha SinghWastewater Surveillance Program ManagerVirginia Department of HealthHealth department representative
Erin Morin Specialist, Environmental HealthAssociation of Public Health LaboratoriesAssociation representative
Anna MehrotraDirector, Wastewater Surveillance ProgramWater Environment FederationWEF staff

Why Should I Join the Utilities CoP?

Do you represent a utility participating in, or interested in, wastewater surveillance? Do you have questions about where the field is headed and what role utilities will play? Consider joining the Utilities CoP! As a CoP member, you’ll receive:

  • An invitation to monthly meetings with presentations, panel discussions, and opportunities to ask questions and share lessons learned;
  • Access to a private SharePoint site with fact sheets, templates, videos, a discussion board, calendar, and other resources; and
  • Weekly email updates with the latest wastewater surveillance news.

There is no cost to join, and you are under no obligation to volunteer for anything once you do. Learn more in the video below or scroll down to fill out the form to join.

How Do I Join?

Please submit the following form. Once submitted, we will confirm you meet the requirements for participation prior to granting you access. Access to the Utilities CoP is intended for individuals and organizations that operate sewer systems and/or wastewater treatment facilities. If you work for a health department, please consider requesting to join the Health Departments CoP by emailing the NWSS team.

Please email the Utilities CoP team with any questions.

NWSS Utilities CoP Registration Form
Please enter your full name in the format ‘First Name’ and ‘Last Name’ in the corresponding fields. Both fields are required.
Please enter the name of your utility company or organization. This field is mandatory.
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