Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) involves monitoring for potential pathogens and their metabolites in samples from wastewater treatment plants, sewers and waterways. In this talk, I will explain how we are using molecular biology in concert with computational approaches to make it possible to detect and track pathogens in wastewater. I will also discuss how we are planning for the possibility of a future pandemic and how we will use the lessons learned from this work to detect novel pathogens in the future.