CEHA 2024

The Colorado Wastewater Surveillance Program was established in 2020 during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic to monitor COVID-19 levels across the state. Since its inception, the Wastewater Surveillance Program has expanded to cover approximately 65% of the state’s population in its monitoring, and it was designated as a National Wastewater Surveillance System (NWSS) Center of Excellence by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This program has evolved into a dynamic initiative with a vision for the future that prioritizes optimization of resources and partnerships between the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, local public health agencies, wastewater utilities, and academic partners.
The program is focused on sustainability and the incorporation of new targets to the surveillance schema. This includes the addition of enterovirus-D68 during the 2023 season. Additionally, a pilot project was conducted during the 2023-2024 respiratory virus season, focusing on influenza A and B, as well as RSV A and B. Moving forward, the program is considering the addition of antimicrobial-resistant gene and fungal targets, arboviruses, and bacterial targets.
Pertaining to the goal of program sustainability and following an evaluation, we are transitioning to a sentinel surveillance site model for wastewater surveillance. This system will enable us to incorporate new pathogen targets and implement long-term wastewater surveillance in Colorado. Complementary to this program, we have established the Emergency Wastewater Surveillance System. This framework encompasses a network of wastewater utilities, each serving more than 3,000 Coloradans. In the event of emerging pathogens necessitating rapid public health responses, these utilities will immediately provide wastewater samples to CDPHE for analysis. This system ensures swift monitoring of pathogen spread across the state, enabling effective and efficient public health interventions. As it continues to advance and foster collaborative partnerships, the Colorado Wastewater Surveillance Program stands poised to maintain its crucial role in safeguarding public health and informing proactive measures for pathogen detection and response in the state.