Globally, 1.1 billion people rely on unsafe drinking water sources from lakes, rivers, andrnopen wells. Studies have confirmed that water related diseases not only remain a leadingrncause of morbidity and mortality worldwide but that the spectrum of disease is expandingrnand the incidence of many water related microbial diseases are increasing. This study wasrnconducted to assess contamination levels of water and to determine the major sources ofrncontaminants at collection points.rnThree springs and four sites of a river in Yubdo-Legebatu PA were selected for this study.rnRepresentative samples from the water bodies and livestock feces were collected andrnanalyzed at AAU, Department of Biology, Applied Microbiology Laboratory. The levelsrnof contamination were determined on the bases of total coliform(TC), fecal coliform(FC)rnand fecal Streptococcus(FS) from the water and livestock fecal samples following thernmembrane filtration method. Major sources of contaminants were investigated by usingrnthe ratio of fecal coliform to fecal Streptococcus for water samples.rnWater analysis demonstrated that all water sources in the study area were contaminatedrnwith total coliforms. Except the samples from the upper river site, of which, 91.7% wasrncontaminated, all the others were 100% contaminated with total coliforms. Out of thernsamples studied, 100% of spring site 1, spring site 2, spring site 3, river site 1 and riverrnsite 3, 83.3% of river site 2 and 91.7% of upper river sites had unacceptable levels of totalrncoliforms. Likewise, all water sources were 100% contaminated with fecal coliforms,rnexcept that of river site 2 and upper river site which had 91.7% and 83.3% ofrncontamination level, respectively. Out of the samples considered, 100% of the samplesrnfrom spring site 1, spring site 2, spring site 3, river site 1 and river site 2, 91.7% of riverrnsite 3 and 83.3% of upper river site samples were above the limits set by EthiopiarnMinistry of Water Resources and WHO. Analysis for fecal streptococci revealed thatrn100% of the samples from spring site 1, spring site 2 and river site 2, 91.7% of spring sitern3, 75 % river site 1 and 58.3% of upper river site samples were contaminated with thesernbacteria. Out of the samples observed for fecal streptococci, 91.7% of spring site 1 andrnrnspring site 3, 66.8% of river site 1 and river site 3, 83.3% of spring site 2 and river site 2rnand 58.3% of upper river sites had unacceptable levels of contamination. There was arnsignificant difference in the average counts of TC, FC and FS among all water sites.rnAverage concentrations of TC, FC and FS in spring site 3 were significantly higher thanrnall other water sample sites.rnFecal coliform - fecal streptococci ratios in water sources of this study showed that 100%rnindicated enteric contamination from domestic animal wastes.rnThe highest median and maximum concentrations of total coliforms in the livestock fecesrnwere 3.25 x107 cfu/g and 4.3 x107 cfu/g, from goat and sheep fecal samples at river site 2rnand spring 2, respectively. The highest median and maximum counts of fecal coliformsrnwere 2.05 x107 cfu/g and 2.4 x107 cfu/g, from goat and sheep fecal samples at river site 2rnand spring 2, respectively. The highest median and maximum concentrations of fecalrnStreptococcus were 1.6 x107 cfu/g and 3 x107 cfu/g, from cattle fecal samples at river sitern1. The highest load of contaminants in the water sources could be derived from cattlernwastes.rnHigh concentrations of bacterial indicators in all water sources of this study arearnsuggested the presence of pathogenic organisms that constitute a threat to anyonernconsuming or in contact with these waters. The potential source of enteric organismsâ€™rncontamination of these water sources could be mainly explained by the predominancernabsence of fencing of watering points that could protect the entrance of animals, openrnarea defecation and drawing water with unclean cups. Therefore, protection of waterrnsources accompanied by sanitation and hygiene promotion programs can improve thernhygiene quality of rural water sources, where disinfection is not feasible.