Human enteric viruses were isolated from the potable water of a military camp in Spain that was experiencing an outbreak of infectious hepatitis, despite a total chlorine residual in the water of 0.2 mg/L. The bacteriological analysis that was routinely used by the camp showed the water to be consistently free of indicator bacteria. This and other studies support the recommendation of monitoring for viral contamination and the setting up of more powerful water treatment when viruses have been detected in the water supply. Includes 20 references, tables, figure.