Four ARGs were selected to monitor in Bath, according to previous work done in the catchment area for both genes and associated AAs and due to their clinical importance . The selected genes were ermB (macrolide resistance), sul1 (sulphonamide resistance), qnrS (fluoroquinolone resistance), and intI1 (potential marker of anthropogenic pollution). An additional two genes were investigated in hospital effluent, tetW (tetracycline resistance) and blaTEM (resistance to β-lactams), to explore the relationships between AAs and ARGs. Whilst PCR offers high sensitivity and is valuable in quantifying the expression of genes, it can only detect previously selected targets. DNA sequencing has also been employed here as an untargeted approach to provide comprehensive metagenomic information and to characterise the bacterial communities and genes present in the selected wastewater samples