Plain Language Summary
# SEWER Act Summary **What It Does** The SEWER Act (Surveilling Effluent Water for Epidemic Response Act) would give the CDC legal authority to operate and expand its National Wastewater Surveillance System (NWSS)—a program that monitors disease-causing pathogens in sewage. The bill would require the CDC to strengthen this surveillance for COVID-19, flu, mpox, dengue, West Nile virus, and RSV. Essentially, it turns wastewater monitoring into an official disease detection tool by testing what flows through sewers to spot outbreaks early. **Who It Affects** Public health departments, wastewater treatment facilities, and the CDC would implement the program. Ultimately, the bill aims to benefit all Americans by providing early warning of disease outbreaks in their communities.
The program relies on partnerships between local health agencies and the CDC to collect samples and share data. **Current Status** The bill is currently in committee (as of the 119th Congress) and has not yet been voted on by the full House. It was introduced by Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA). The wastewater surveillance system already exists informally; this bill would make it a permanent, officially authorized program with dedicated funding and expanded scope.
CRS Official Summary
Surveilling Effluent Water for Epidemic Response Act or the SEWER ActThis bill provides statutory authority for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) National Wastewater Surveillance System (NWSS) program, which detects and monitors pathogens in wastewater. It requires the CDC to expand and intensify the activities of the NWSS, including with respect to SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19), influenza, mpox, dengue, West Nile virus, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). The NWSS provides funding and guidance to public health departments for wastewater surveillance activities. Under the NWSS, health departments and other partners coordinate on wastewater surveillance at sampling sites and share data with the CDC. The NWSS was initially implemented to monitor SARS-CoV-2 and has since expanded to include influenza A, avian influenza A, mpox, and RSV.
Latest Action
Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.