CDC Wastewater Data for SARS-CoV-2: U.S. Time History from Multiple Sources

U.S. sampling locations provide a complete time history of SARS-CoV-2 wastewater sample data and calculated metrics. The dataset is generated by state and local health departments, CDC's national contract, and the WastewaterSCAN partnership. It is updated weekly on Fridays.

Use Cases

• Tracking viral concentration trends over time using sample_collect_date and pcr_target_avg_conc_lin.
• Analyzing geographic distribution of SARS-CoV-2 using state_territory and county_fips columns.
• Correlating viral load with population served using population_served and pcr_target_flowpop_lin.
• Assessing data quality and laboratory methods via columns like concentration_method, major_lab_method, and inhibition_detect.

Strengths

• Data is updated weekly, with a last update timestamp of 2026-04-03 15:06:57.
• Includes 30 columns covering sampling details, lab methods, concentration metrics, and geographic identifiers.
• Aggregates data from three distinct sources: State/Territory health departments, CDC_Verily, and WastewaterSCAN.

Limitations

• Row count and dataset size are unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data may reflect geographic or source bias inherent to the contributing sampling locations.

Provenance

Source

CDC’s National Wastewater Surveillance System (NWSS), with data from state/territory health departments, CDC/Verily, and WastewaterSCAN.

Collection Method

Data collected from wastewater samples at U.S. locations, processed and reported to CDC.

Time Range

A complete time history; specific start and end dates are not provided.

Freshness

Updated weekly on Fridays.

Geography

United States, with columns for site, state_territory, county_fips, and counties_served.