Assessment of Public Health Agency and Utility Training Needs for CDC National Wastewater Surveillance System Jurisdictions in the United States

Abstract

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, wastewater surveillance hasemerged as a critical tool for tracking the spread of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus and other pathogens in communities throughout the United States. In 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) launched the National Wastewater Surveillance System (NWSS), which partners with state, local, tribal, and territorial health departments to develop and implement wastewater collection and analysis systems and to share data. In 2022, the CDC established the first two NWSS Centers of Excellence to lead its implementation and coordination efforts—one in Colorado (Colorado CoE) and one in Houston (Houston CoE). As the NWSS expands, it is becoming more important to support the training needs of jurisdictions at different stages of developing their wastewater surveillance infrastructure. To evaluate these needs, the Colorado CoE and Houston CoE conducted a needs assessment study of NWSS-funded public health agencies and public utilities departments located in the United States using surveys developed by the Colorado CoE. The results of the surveys showed that although some training needs were universal, it will be most beneficial to develop training modules tailored to the needs of entities that operate wastewater surveillance programs of various sizes, workforce experience levels, and at different stages in the infrastructure development process.