Senators Tim Scott (R-SC) and Cory Booker (D-NJ) introduced bipartisan legislation last week aimed at expanding the nation’s wastewater surveillance network to help detect infectious disease outbreaks earlier and improve the country’s preparedness for future public health emergencies.
The proposal, known as the Public Health Response and Emergency Detection through Integrated Wastewater Community Testing Act or the PREDICT Act, would strengthen monitoring systems that analyze sewage for traces of viruses and bacteria circulating in communities.
Joining Scott and Booker in introducing the legislation are Sens. Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Ted Budd (R-NC), Roger Wicker (R-MS), and Angus King (I-ME).
Wastewater surveillance works by sampling sewage systems to detect viral or bacterial material shed by infected individuals during routine daily activities. Because people can spread pathogens even before showing symptoms, or without showing symptoms at all, the system can provide public health officials with an early warning signal that diseases are circulating in a community.
Officials say the method has proven effective at identifying pathogens such as measles, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), influenza A, and COVID-19, and could provide net benefits in a future pandemic, equaling an average of $1,500 per person.
Recent outbreaks have highlighted the importance of early detection systems. In South Carolina, health officials have been responding to a significant measles outbreak centered in the Upstate region, underscoring the need for tools that help track infectious diseases before they spread widely. “Wastewater monitoring provides communities with an early warning when infectious diseases are spreading,” Scott said in a statement. “As South Carolina continues responding to the measles outbreak, it’s clear that early detection tools are critical to protecting families and helping public health officials respond quickly to emerging threats.”
Public health experts say wastewater-based epidemiology can provide real-time signals about disease trends across entire populations. “Wastewater-based epidemiology is a powerful tool that allows us to detect public health threats in real time — often before clinical cases or other health outcomes emerge,” said Tara Sabo-Attwood, dean of the Arnold School of Public Health at the University of South Carolina.
Sabo-Attwood noted that researchers at the university’s Arnold School of Public Health are already working with partners such as Clemson University, Medical University of South Carolina, and Claflin University to develop early warning systems that can help public health officials respond more quickly to emerging threats.
The PREDICT Act would direct the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to award grants to state, tribal, and local health departments, universities, nonprofits, and public-private partnerships to establish, maintain, or expand wastewater monitoring programs.
The legislation would also support advanced laboratory capabilities to detect new pathogens and track multiple infectious diseases simultaneously, improve data transparency through a national dashboard for public health officials, and require the CDC to develop a strategic plan for maintaining a nationwide early-warning bio-surveillance network.
Supporters say strengthening wastewater monitoring could help communities identify outbreaks earlier, respond more quickly to emerging health threats, and better protect public health nationwide.
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