The CDC’s National Wastewater Surveillance System remains one of the most valuable public health tools for detecting the increased spread of infectious diseases in the US, such as SARS-CoV-2, measles, polio, Mpox, RSV, influenza, and avian flu. Congress has granted annual funding for these programs in communities nationwide, in partnership with local or state departments of public health. Although only recently introduced, wastewater surveillance has emerged as a major part of the US public health infrastructure. However, the Fiscal Year 2026 funding proposal by the Trump administration slashes funding from $125 million to $25 million, which would inevitably mean cutting programs nationwide, reducing the number of programs, and diminishing the nation’s already far from comprehensive surveillance for infectious diseases.

Wastewater surveillance monitors and helps us anticipate changes in infectious disease levels by routinely collecting samples from public sewage systems. Ending wastewater surveillance programs will blind us to emerging hot spots or areas of increased infectious disease spread, locally and nationally. This will affect people in both urban and rural communities in their efforts to monitor infectious diseases. Maintaining and even expanding wastewater surveillance is urgent as the US endures an alarming resurgence of measles and potentially other infectious diseases while facing an unpredictable future for numerous infectious pathogens.

Join us in urging more members of Congress to permanently extend and provide full funding of the CDC’s national wastewater surveillance system. Tell Congress to make permanent US support for infectious disease surveillance through wastewater testing.

You can submit a letter to your members of Congress, both the Senate and the House of Representatives, via our Action Network, or contact them directly, keeping our letter in full or editing it as you wish.

Please personalize your letter. Letters to elected officials are most effective when they start with a brief personal comment (a sentence or two) about why and how monitoring infectious diseases through wastewater has been important as a part of public health infrastructure to your loved ones and your community.

Letter Template

Dear Elected Member of Congress,

As your constituent, I urge you to act today to ensure the FY26 budget fully funds CDC’s National Wastewater Surveillance System. This system actively detects and passively screens for infectious diseases in the community, previously funded at $125 million a year. This has clearly become an imperative program that provides early detection of infectious diseases such as SARS-CoV-2,, measles, polio, Mpox, RSV, influenza, and avian flu. The Trump administration proposes cutting the annual budget to $25 million, which will severely weaken and nearly destroy an invaluable public health infrastructure for monitoring the spread of infectious diseases.

Although established only a few years ago, wastewater surveillance is now a major tool in public health infrastructure. As an early detection system, its findings alert public health officials to the need to act quickly to protect the health of the American people from infectious diseases. Already, public health has been able to detect potential hot spots of the emergence of measles while confirming places with high rates of measles.

I ask you for your commitment to:

1. Renew $125 million dollars of annual funding for the CDC National Wastewater Surveillance System.

2. Ensure the CDC provides comprehensive ongoing reports of infectious diseases through wastewater monitoring.

I appreciate your time and consideration of this important matter!