International Science Community Association International Research Journal of Environmental Sciences 2319-1414 10 4 2021 10 22 A review on contamination of drinking water due to pathogenic microbes and water-borne illness in Uttarakhand, India 20 23 EN Vishnu P.S. 1 Soil Science Department, KSCSTE- Kerala Forest Research Institute, Peechi, Kerala, India Sandeep S. 2 Soil Science Department, KSCSTE- Kerala Forest Research Institute, Peechi, Kerala, India N. Aleem Yoosuf 1 Department of Plant Science, Central University of Kerala, Kasaragod India – 671316, Kerala, India T.P. Unaisudheen 2 Department of Botany, Jamal Mohamed College (Autonomous), Thiruchirappally– 620020, Tamilnadu, India Rani Manju 1 Department of Botany, H.V.M. (PG) College, Raisi, Haridwar, Uttarakhand, India > Review Paper 2021 6 8 2021 10 22 Microbes are found in all places including drinking water and affect our life directly or indirectly. They include non-pathogenic as well as disease causing pathogenic species. Drinking water, a key resource of our food supply has been invaded by countless pathogenic microbes. The main cause of this problem lies in the transportation machinery of drinking water which is riddled with ineffective and obsolete components resulting in chemical as well as microbial contamination leading to water-borne afflictions. Hence, regular and systematic surveillance of drinking water and its distribution networks for harmful microbes is needed to determine the level of contamination. A precise review of literature on contamination of drinking water due to pathogenic microbes and disease outburst in Uttarakhand was conducted. The study concluded that total coliform and faecal coliform contamination in raw water such as rivers and lakes is more than water treatment plants. Although ground water was found to be satisfactory. Copyright@ International Science Community Association