b Drinking water assessments use a variety of microbial, physical, and chemical indicators to evaluate water treatment efficiency and product water quality. However, these indicators do not allow the complex biological communities, which can adversely impact the performance of drinking water distribution systems (DWDSs), to be characterized. Entire bacterial communities can be studied quickly and inexpensively using targeted metagenomic amplicon sequencing. Here, amplicon sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene region was performed alongside traditional water quality measures to assess the health, quality, and efficiency of two distinct, full-scale DWDSs: (i) a linear DWDS supplied with unfiltered water subjected to basic disinfection before distribution and (ii) a complex, branching DWDS treated by a four-stage water treatment plant (WTP) prior to disinfection and distribution. In both DWDSs bacterial communities differed significantly after disinfection, demonstrating the effectiveness of both treatment regimes. However, bacterial repopulation occurred further along in the DWDSs, and some end-user samples were more similar to the source water than to the postdisinfection water. Three sample locations appeared to be nitrified, displaying elevated nitrate levels and decreased ammonia levels, and nitrifying bacterial species, such as Nitrospira, were detected. Burkholderiales were abundant in samples containing large amounts of monochloramine, indicating resistance to disinfection. Genera known to contain pathogenic and fecal-associated species were also identified in several locations. From this study, we conclude that metagenomic amplicon sequencing is an informative method to support current compliance-based methods and can be used to reveal bacterial community interactions with the chemical and physical properties of DWDSs.T ransmission of pathogens via contaminated water is a significant cause of illness worldwide. It has been estimated that one-third of gastrointestinal illnesses are caused by contaminated drinking water (1), and 4% of all deaths worldwide are due to polluted drinking water and poor sanitation (2). In developed nations water quality assessments and treatment facilities have been introduced to reduce microbial contamination, resulting in a significant reduction in drinking water-related illnesses and deaths. Water treatment commonly involves the reduction of organics and other contaminants via coagulation and sedimentation, separation of any remaining solids via filtration, and finally disinfection via chemical oxidants or ultraviolet (UV) radiation. The addition of chemical oxidants such as chlorine and monochloramine is the most common method of drinking water disinfection (3). The level of treatment required varies from system to system, with some drinking water distribution systems (DWDSs) receiving only one or two levels of treatment, while others require multiple treatments to create water suitable for end use.Currently, most drinking water quality assessments do not directly taxonomically ide...