Public health works best when we can identify emerging threats before they become widespread. One of the most innovative tools helping public health professionals do exactly that is wastewater surveillance. By analyzing regional wastewater, researchers can monitor population-level trends in infectious diseases, environmental threats, and even unregulated substances, providing valuable information that helps communities respond more quickly and effectively to evolving health risks.
The Opportunity
Communities face an increasing number of public health challenges, from infectious diseases and foodborne illnesses to the ongoing toxic drug poisoning crisis. Traditional surveillance methods often rely on people seeking healthcare, being tested, or interacting with services. As a result, important trends can emerge long before public health officials become aware of them.
Wastewater surveillance offers a unique opportunity to bridge this gap. When people are exposed to viruses, bacteria, or other substances, traces can often be detected in wastewater regardless of whether symptoms are present. This creates an anonymous, population-level snapshot of community health that can identify trends and emerging threats in near real time.
The value of this approach became clear during the COVID-19 pandemic, when wastewater testing helped public health leaders track community transmission and make informed decisions to protect British Columbians. Today, the potential applications extend far beyond COVID-19, supporting surveillance for respiratory illnesses, foodborne pathogens, environmental contaminants, and unregulated substances contributing to the toxic drug poisoning crisis.
The Solution
The Environmental Microbiology Program at the BC Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC) has established British Columbia as a leader in wastewater surveillance. Building on lessons learned during the pandemic, researchers are expanding wastewater monitoring to provide earlier warning and deeper insights into threats facing communities across the province.
Wastewater surveillance can be used to monitor the circulation of viruses, bacteria, and other pathogens. It can also provide important information about unregulated substances circulating in communities, including fentanyl and other drugs contributing to the toxic drug poisoning crisis. By combining wastewater data with other public health information, decision-makers can respond more rapidly and effectively to emerging health trends.
Researchers are also exploring opportunities for more localized wastewater monitoring, including at public venues and major events where large numbers of people attend. These approaches have already been successfully used at international events such as the Olympics and major sporting events, demonstrating the growing global importance of wastewater surveillance as a public health tool.
The Impact
Wastewater surveillance provides a range of benefits that make it an increasingly important component of modern public health practice.
Earlier detection of health threats: Wastewater monitoring can identify emerging trends before traditional healthcare data becomes available, allowing communities to respond sooner and potentially reduce harm.
Population-level insights: Because wastewater captures information from entire communities, it provides a broad and representative picture of health trends that is difficult to obtain through other surveillance methods.
Anonymous and non-invasive data collection: Wastewater surveillance collects information without identifying individuals, creating a valuable source of public health intelligence while protecting privacy.
Supporting equitable public policy: By generating data that reflects entire populations rather than only people accessing services, wastewater surveillance can help inform more equitable policies, programs, and interventions. This is particularly important in addressing complex challenges such as substance use and toxic drug poisoning.
Strengthening community preparedness: From pandemic response to emerging environmental and public health threats, wastewater surveillance equips leaders with better information to protect community health and respond quickly when risks arise.
Meet the Researcher
Dr Natalie Prystajecky is Program Head of the Environmental Microbiology Program at the BCCDC Public Health Laboratory and a Clinical Associate Professor in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the University of British Columbia. She is widely recognized as a leader in environmental microbiology and public health surveillance.
Natalie’s research interests include public health, environmental microbiology, drinking water quality, food safety, genomics, and molecular diagnostics. Over the past several years, she has emerged as one of the leading innovators in wastewater surveillance in Canada, helping to demonstrate how wastewater can be used to generate actionable public health intelligence.
The Foundation has proudly supported several initiatives led by Dr Prystajecky and her team. These include wastewater surveillance during the COVID-19 pandemic, wastewater monitoring to detect unregulated toxic drugs, and the GEMSTONE project, which helps identify sources of contamination affecting marine shellfish harvest sites. Each project demonstrates how environmental monitoring can support healthier communities through earlier detection, stronger evidence, and more informed public health decision-making.
Building on this foundation of innovation, wastewater surveillance continues to evolve as a powerful tool for protecting population health, supporting evidence-based policy, and helping communities prepare for future challenges.
Why Philanthropy Matters
Many of the most promising applications of wastewater surveillance extend beyond traditional funding streams. Philanthropic investment provides the flexibility to explore new approaches, pilot innovative technologies, and expand surveillance into areas where emerging threats may otherwise go undetected.
Support from donors has already helped advance wastewater surveillance in British Columbia, contributing to pandemic response efforts, monitoring for unregulated substances, and developing new approaches to environmental and population health surveillance. Continued investment will help researchers expand testing capacity, explore new applications, and generate the evidence needed to support healthier and safer communities across the province.
By supporting wastewater surveillance, donors are investing in a proactive approach to public health that identifies risks earlier, informs better decisions, and helps protect the health and well-being of British Columbians today, and into the future.
Please contact fundraising@pphf.ca to learn more about supporting wastewater surveillance and other innovative public health initiatives.