Rainwater is an essential freshwater resource in arid areas and is typically stored in water cellars to meet the potable water needs of the population. This study employed a high-throughput sequencing method to explore the distribution and variations of DRB in cellar water with intermittent disinfection conditions. The results showed that intermittent disinfection reduces the richness and evenness of microbial communities in rainwater cellars. Serratia, Pseudomonas, Blastomonas, and Methylotenera are regarded as typical DRB genera, which still exhibit significant abundance advantages and abundance increments after multiple chlorinations. 31.27 similar to 83.92 % of the detected pathogen abundance was contributed by typical DRB. Intermittent disinfection could induce the enrichment of pathogenic Pseudomonas and bacterial functions related to human diseases. The enrichment of Pseudomonas and bacterial functions was most pronounced after four and three disinfections, respectively, increasing by 701.9 % and 59.8 %. To mitigate the risks associated with enrichment issues, it is recommended to limit the disinfection cycle to less than three times. Correlation analysis showed significant correlations between dissolved organic nitrogen (DON), ammonia nitrogen (NH3-N), total dissolved solids (TDS), dissolved organic matter (DOM), Cl-, and pH with variations in microbial diversity and structure. The regrowth of inactivated Methylotenera during storage, adaptation of Serratia to bromine-containing environments, and tolerance of Blastomonas and Pseudomonas to increased salinity and low-nutrient conditions may contribute to the increased abundance of these four typical DRB genera.