For media inquiries related to the Wisconsin Wastewater Monitoring Program, please contact the WI DHS through its media line at (608) 266-1683 or by emailing dhsmedia@wisconsin.gov.
In Brown County, NEW Water (the Green Bay Metropolitan Sewerage District) takes samples from the wastewater of an estimated population of 189,000 people. You can read about their participation in the program here.
At the national level, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) operates the National Wastewater Surveillance System (NWSS), which collects information about the levels of COVID-19, flu, bird flu, RSV, and mpox in an area's sewage. You can read more about the NWSS here.
Wastewater monitoring data can help local public health agencies identify outbreak trends early and direct prevention efforts to where they are most needed.
"Wastewater monitoring is an important tool for Brown County Public Health because it allows us to watch for the presence of certain diseases in the community that might make people sick. It allows us to check on an entire community with a single test and does not need any extra effort from the people who live or visit here. It is a complement to other methods of disease surveillance but does come with limitations. Wastewater monitoring cannot tell us who in the community is infected or even if those potentially sick people are still in the area. The information does allow us to take steps to protect the community, including teaching people about the disease in question and the actions they can take to protect their families from getting sick. It also allows us to inform our health care partners about what may be circulating among their patients, so they can look for specific symptoms and use testing if necessary." - Brown County Public Health
