Environmental sampling surveillance (ESS) technologies can be used during diseaseoutbreaks as early warning systems, informing public health decisions and saving lives.However, such systems can be costly and complicated to harness for decision-making, so it isimportant to identify when and how to employ ESS systems to maximize their benefits. Thispaper simulates a COVID-19-like pandemic to quantify the net-benefits of ESS systems throughbetter-targeted nonpharmaceutical interventions (NP