How wastewater surveillance is funded, and concerns for its future

April 2, 2023.Reading time 12 minutes.

This week, I have a new story out in Scientific American about why the wastewater surveillance infrastructure built during the pandemic may not last in the long term. While current monitoring projects aren’t likely to go anywhere right now, issues with funding, uneven commitments at state and local levels, and the overall novelty of this field may lead those programs to shut down in the coming years.

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COVID source shout-out: Biobot continues its contract with the CDC

February 12, 2023.Reading time 1 minute.

Leading wastewater surveillance company Biobot Analytics announced this week that it will continue to work with the CDC’s National Wastewater Surveillance System (NWSS) through July 2023.

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New wastewater surveillance report highlights need for expansion, standardization

January 22, 2023.Reading time 8 minutes.

This week, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) released a major report about the state of wastewater surveillance for infectious diseases in the U.S. The report, written by a committee of top experts (and peer-reviewed before its release), is an extensive description of the promise and the challenges of wastewater testing.

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Where to find wastewater data for your community

November 20, 2022.Reading time 6 minutes.

As we head into the holidays with limited COVID-19 testing and undercounted case numbers, wastewater surveillance is the best way to evaluate how much the virus is spreading in your region. And it’s now available in more places than ever, thanks to the many research groups and public health agencies setting up sewage testing.

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Sources and updates, June 5

June 5, 2022.Reading time 6 minutes.

Sources and updates for the week of June 5 include a new chart on the CDC’s wastewater dashboard and studies showing COVID-19’s disproportionate impact on Native Americans.

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Wastewater data gap follow-up: an update from Biobot

May 22, 2022.Reading time 9 minutes.

Last week, I pointed out a data gap on the CDC’s National Wastewater Surveillance System (NWSS) dashboard: hundreds of sewershed sites on the dashboard have not been updated with recent data in weeks. This week, I’m excited to share an update on the situation, courtesy of Biobot.

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More transparency needed on CDC wastewater data

May 15, 2022.Reading time 9 minutes.

Something strange is going on with the CDC’s National Wastewater Surveillance System (NWSS) data. Hundreds of sites on the CDC NWSS dashboard have been labeled as showing “no recent data” for a couple of weeks.

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COVID source shout-out: CDC wastewater dashboard upgrades

April 10, 2022.Reading time 3 minutes.

After the CDC released its National Wastewater Surveillance System (NWSS) dashboard in February, the agency faced some criticism. The CDC has responded with some helpful upgrades to its dashboard, though there’s still room for improvement.

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