National Wastewater Surveillance System Funding Appears Secure For 2026

The U.S. National Wastewater Surveillance System (NWSS), run by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) since 2020, appears to have averted a funding crisis when U.S. President Donald J. Trump signed H.R. 7148, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2026, into law on Feb. 3, 2026.

The NWSS faced a significant funding "cliff" at the end of FY 2025 because it had previously relied heavily on one-time COVID-19 supplemental funds. The FY 2026 appropriations process worked to transition it into a more permanent, line-item budget, but the Trump administration moved to completely defund The Prevention and Public Health Fund (PPHF) as part of a larger restructuring of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Established under Section 4002 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (ACA), the PPHF is “the nation’s first mandatory funding stream dedicated to improving our nation’s public health system.”