
The National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO), with support from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), yesterday announced it is awarding $356,000 to support local health departments in implementing and expanding wastewater monitoring to track disease trends and emerging health threats in their communities.
NACCHO selected five local health departments as mentors and 11 local health departments as mentees for the 2025 Wastewater Monitoring Mentorship Program, which is now in its fourth year. This year, NACCHO emphasized including rural health departments because of unique barriers that rural communities may face in analyzing wastewater.
Key support for local health departments
"The goal of the mentorship program is to ensure that local health departments have the support necessary to start or expand wastewater monitoring programs that fit the needs of the communities they serve," NACCHO said.
Mentors are local health departments that have demonstrated experience in using wastewater monitoring. They are paired with local health departments that are in the early stages of developing wastewater monitoring.
The goal of the mentorship program is to ensure that local health departments have the support necessary to start or expand wastewater monitoring programs.
Mentor awardees include health departments in California, Massachusetts, Nebraska, and Texas (2 departments). Mentees are in Alaska, California (3 departments), Iowa, Ohio, Missouri, Texas (3 departments), and West Virginia.
NACCHO represents more than 3,300 local health departments across the United States.