The data collected by WastewaterSCAN and the methods used to collect it are all public. The monitoring results are shared with local officials and the public via our data dashboard.

Data license
Content on this site is licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0.

Data information and use
These data were generated by the WastewaterSCAN / SCAN projects, philanthropically funded through a gift to Stanford University. All results are understood to be based on inputs that are experimental in nature, and are not intended to diagnose or treat any disease. The results are provided “as is” and without warranty of any kind. Stanford is not liable for any claim arising out of or in connection with the disclosure of these results. By accessing or copying any part of the database, the user accepts the terms of this license.

These data are being made available to inform public health decision making. Anyone seeking to use the database for other purposes or for research is required to contact the WastewaterSCAN / SCAN team at wwscan_stanford_emory@lists.stanford.edu or Alexandria Boehm aboehm@stanford.edu. Any questions about the data, or the methods used to generate or produce any data products should be directed to the same emails.

When the data are used in any format, the following attribution should be made: “These data were collected as part of the WastewaterSCAN / SCAN project, a partnership between Stanford University, Emory University, and Verily funded philanthropically through a gift to Stanford University.” In addition, the following paper should be cited: A. B. Boehm, Marlene K. Wolfe, Krista R. Wigginton, Amanda L. Bidwell, Bradley J. White, Bridgette Hughes, Dorothea Duong, Vikram Chan-Herur, Heather N. Bischel, Colleen C. Naughton. 2023. Human viral nucleic acids concentrations in wastewater solids from Central and Coastal California USA. Scientific Data, 10, 396. Linked here.

It should be noted that the required attribution may change over time and users should check back here often to conform to the requirements.

Frequently asked questions

Monitoring

What is wastewater?

What is wastewater monitoring?

Why is wastewater monitoring important?

How are wastewater monitoring results used?

Will the wastewater monitoring identify the presence of diseases at a specific address?

What does wastewater monitoring detect? Is it just the COVID-19 virus or other viruses too?

Are you monitoring for new variants of COVID-19 that may appear?

How do you decide what diseases to monitor for? Will that list change?

Can wastewater monitoring be used to detect drug use?

Can I opt out of wastewater monitoring?

Are you monitoring wastewater for Bird Flu (H5N1)?

WastewaterSCAN

What is WastewaterSCAN?

What is WastewaterSCAN’s goal?

How does WastewaterSCAN work?

How much does WastewaterSCAN cost and who pays for it?

It looks like fewer sites are participating in WastewaterSCAN, why is that?

Data

Who manages the wastewater data and its use?

If I have COVID or some other disease, isn’t that private? How does that work with health privacy rules?

Why does “No data” appear when I input my ZIP Code?

Participation

Is WastewaterSCAN recruiting locations/sites to participate in the program?

What cities and treatment plants participate?