1. Introduction
Understanding the environmental fate of pathogens is useful for minimising the risk to humans. Human viruses are excreted at highconcentrations in faeces and urine and can be transmitted through
improperly treated wastewater. As part of the EU-FP7-funded
VIROCLIME project, the present study developed a surveillance
program centred on a typically Mediterranean climate region: the
Llobregat River basin (Catalonia, northeast of Spain).