As technology rapidly advances, monitoring health indicators and contaminants in wastewater has become more precise. But how can this information be harnessed to protect public health?

Canadian Water Network (CWN) and the National Collaborating Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCCID) are leading a national program that supports the effective use of wastewater-based surveillance (WBS) to inform public health decisions.

In its inaugural year (April 2023 – March 2024), the program supported over 30 public health practitioners serving cities and Indigenous communities across Canada. Their focus was on effectively interpreting and communicating WBS data, as well as communicating the value of using WBS to track cases of COVID-19 and other contagious diseases at the community level.

Six knowledge products — including an overview, three case examples, and two tools — were produced to capture key learnings and promising practices from the program’s first year. We’re happy to share that these are publicly available.