Abstract
Background
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) initiated the National Wastewater Surveillance System (NWSS) in September 2020. Four Centers of Excellence (COEs) were established between 2021–2023 in Houston (Texas), Colorado, Wisconsin, and California to guide wastewater surveillance efforts for public health. Our objective was to increase understanding of factors that facilitated implementation of wastewater surveillance from the perspectives and experiences shared by health department COEs and wastewater utility partners.
Methods
We used a purposive sampling strategy to select eight key respondents from the four NWSS COEs and four respective wastewater utility partners. We conducted in-depth interviews related to the implementation of wastewater surveillance and identified common experiences and key points from interview transcription files. Insights on WWS implementation from COEs and wastewater utility partners were distilled from the responses into lessons learned.
Results
Three primary themes emerged after we analyzed the interview responses: perceived community benefits from wastewater surveillance, collaboration and trust building among partners that helped program advancement, and sustainability strategies and considerations.
Conclusion
This analysis has highlighted the importance of partnerships and collaborations.