On-Demand Learning

Course Introduction

Video: Ethics of Wastewater Surveillance in Public Health 

Video courtesy of Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO)

For additional guidance on how to incorporate the Framework for Addressing Ethical Considerations in Infectious Diseases Public Health Wastewater Surveillance in your wastewater surveillance program, we’ve developed a short training to help you apply the practical insights and strategies included in the framework. 

The training takes approximately 60 minutes to complete. You can start and stop at your convenience—there's no need to finish it all in one sitting. Just make a note of where you left off if you need to pause.

Access the Training Course : Ethical Considerations for Wastewater Surveillance Systems

Data Analysis and Sharing Documents

Wastewater Surveillance Data Analysis and Dashboard Development Webinar Series

Audience: State public health staff involved in wastewater surveillance activities

Summary: The Colorado National Wastewater Surveillance System (NWSS) Center of Excellence (CoE) invites you to join our Wastewater Surveillance Data Analysis and Dashboard Development webinar series.

Presented By: Kirsten Weisbeck, MPH, Wastewater Data Analytics Supervisor, Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment

Part 1 (originally presented on July 12, 2023)

Focused on dashboard development and the following topics:

• Background on Colorado's approach to analyzing and displaying wastewater surveillance data
• The purpose of wastewater dashboards
• Key considerations when developing a dashboard
• Pros and cons of common dashboard platforms
• Resources for dashboard development
• A dashboard-focused Q & A

This webinar focuses on basic analytic methods and the interpretation of wastewater data and will include the following topics:

• Preparing data for analysis
• Identifying analytic objectives appropriate for each jurisdiction
• Reviewing normalization methods
• Analytic approaches for different sampling levels (sewershed, building-level, upstream)
• Analytic approaches for different targets (Flu, RSV, etc.)
• Routine analytics, including percentile calculation and trend analysis
• Advanced analytics, including aggregate measures and testing correlations
• Data communication
• Q & A

Document: Respiratory virus wastewater surveillance at the sewershed level

Discover practical insights and strategies to effectively implement a wastewater surveillance initiative. 

Video: An Overview of Wastewater Surveillance as a Public Health Tool- In this video, you will learn about wastewater surveillance and how public health agencies use wastewater data to serve their communities. The training includes an overview, a brief history, and the benefits and limitations of wastewater surveillance. 

Partner Organization Document:  Building COVID-19 Wastewater Surveillance with the National Wastewater Surveillance System (PDF)- Published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Building-Level Surveillance

Document: Considerations when Evaluating a Building Level Wastewater  Surveillance Program-(PDF) This document provides important information to help you evaluate a particular building to determine if it is a good fit for building-level wastewater surveillance.

Document: Lessons Learned in Building-Level Wastewater Surveillance-(PDF) This document provides important information to help you evaluate a particular building to determine if it is a good fit for building-level wastewater surveillance.

Video: Sample Site Selection- In this video, you will learn considerations for selecting and accessing your wastewater surveillance sampling site. A case study is used to provide concrete examples of how these considerations guide decisions throughout your project.

Document: Considerations for Site Selection Video Companion- Written summary of the video above.

Composite Sample Collection/Storage/Transport

A composite sample is collected from an autosampler that collects numerous small samples taken over regular intervals over a period of time, usually 24 hours.

Document: Example Standard Operating Procedure for  Sample Collection/Storage/Transportation to Lab (Composite Samples)-This document describes procedures for safe transfer of wastewater samples from wastewater treatment plants to your state health department's laboratory for RNA extraction and analysis. 

Grab Sample Collection/Storage/Transport

A grab sample is collected by lowering a specimen container into the sewer. 

Video: Grab Sample Overview- This video provides an overview of the process of collecting grab samples for wastewater surveillance.

Document: Sample Memorandum of Understanding for Health Agencies and Wastewater Treatment Plants (PDF)- This document is an example of a Memorandum of Understanding between a state health department and a wastewater treatment plant. This document does not constitute legal advice. If you wish to implement an agreement regarding wastewater monitoring, you should consult with an attorney and obtain legal advice specific to your needs.The purpose of this Memorandum of Understanding is to set forth the terms and conditions, scope of work, and responsibilities of the parties associated with their collaboration on wastewater surveillance.  Download Word document

Partner Organization Document:  Building COVID-19 Wastewater Surveillance with the National Wastewater Surveillance System (PDF)- Published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Video Series: Building Effective Partnerships: How Public Health Agencies and Utilities Collaborate for Wastewater Surveillance

This video series highlights the importance of building strong partnerships, which are key to the success of wastewater surveillance programs.

In early 2020, a coalition of wastewater utilities approached the Colorado state Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) to launch a wastewater surveillance program. Since then, CDPHE has developed strong collaborations with utilities and local public health agencies, forming the foundation of our program.

In these videos, we will explore the foundations of these partnerships—what motivates them, the challenges they face, and the successes they’ve achieved. Our goal is to offer valuable insights that can help other state and territorial public health departments develop their own partnerships.

You'll hear from representatives of local public health agencies and utilities who will share their experiences and perspectives on how these partnerships are critical to the success of wastewater surveillance programs. We hope this information proves useful in supporting partnership development across other regions.

Part 1: Introduction and Starting Wastewater Analysis.

Part 2: State and Utility Collaborations.

Part 3: Challenges, Lessons Learned and Next Steps.

Part 4:Public Health Impact of Wastewater Surveillance.