Report on the DHS/NIST Workshop on Standards for an Enduring Capability in Wastewater Surveillance for Public Health (SWWS Workshop)

Published

August 16, 2022

Author(s)

Nancy Lin, Stephanie Servetas, Scott Jackson, Katrice Lippa, Kirsten Parratt, Philip Mattson, Clare Beahn, Mia Mattioli, Sally Gutierrez, Michael Focazio, Ted Smith, Paul Storella, Sarah Wright

Abstract

Wastewater surveillance is a promising approach to monitor biological and chemical contaminants on a community level in support of public health and safety decisions. Wastewater surveillance has recently been shown highly effective for the early detection of SARS-CoV-2 outbreaks within specific populations such as communities or buildings. As such, significant advances have been made in wastewater surveillance since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Nevertheless, many challenges remain to be addressed to establish an enduring capability for wastewater surveillance poised to respond to new targets as they emerge. The Standards for an Enduring Capability in Wastewater Surveillance for Public Health Workshop, co-sponsored by the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the Department of Homeland Security, aimed to identify these challenges and identify potential standards-based solutions to address them. This free, three-day, virtual workshop convened over 500 participants representing over 20 countries who are involved in all aspects of wastewater surveillance from sampling and testing methods to results/reporting and use of data, and represented organizations including government, public health, testing and manufacturing, academia, and non-profits. The presentations, panel discussions, and polling led to the emergence of three themes for standards for wastewater surveillance: concordance without constraints, nationally consistent, and building for the next pandemic.

Citation

Special Publication (NIST SP) - 1279

Report Number

1279

NIST Pub Series

Special Publication (NIST SP)

Pub Type

NIST Pubs

Download Paper

https://doi.org/10.6028/NIST.SP.1279

Local Download

Keywords

COVID, documentary standards, public health, reference materials, SARS-CoV-2, standards, wastewater, wastewater-based epidemiology, wastewater surveillance

Citation

Lin, N. , Servetas, S. , Jackson, S. , Lippa, K. , Parratt, K. , Mattson, P. , Beahn, C. , Mattioli, M. , Gutierrez, S. , Focazio, M. , Smith, T. , Storella, P. and Wright, S. (2022), Report on the DHS/NIST Workshop on Standards for an Enduring Capability in Wastewater Surveillance for Public Health (SWWS Workshop), Special Publication (NIST SP), National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD, [online], https://doi.org/10.6028/NIST.SP.1279, https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=934585 (Accessed October 8, 2025)