Aftermath: Water After Forest Fires

Fire Burning Through an Ecosystem. Source

As fires continue to rage in most of California, with the current Mendocino fire being the largest fire in California’s history, water is being used and abused. A lot of issues surrounding water arise during times of wildfires. While water issues, like supply, arise during fires, water quality issues continue post fires. A few different things are affected after a large wildfire including, watersheds, drinking water and ecosystems.

Watersheds

With a majority of southwestern United States receiving their freshwater from forested areas, wildfires directly affect watersheds. Wildfires push watersheds to the brink and can cause things like erosion and flooding. Depending on the amount of erosion and flooding, water quality can be vastly affected.

Drinking Water

When things like erosion and flooding happen to watersheds as talked about above, it makes it a lot harder for utility companies to treat water and maintain plants as materials are washed into our drinking water. Along with this, the more material that finds its way into the water in these treatment plants, the increase and change in levels of treatment and chemical use.

Ecosystems

Forest fires also largely affect ecosystems.  A study from 2016 found that after forest fires, the presence of metals like lead and iron were found in water ecosystems. These traces of metals and other chemicals found in waters after fires are harmful to humans as well as the fish that inhabit these ecosystems.

While fires rage on in most areas of California, water is not only used up during the fire, it is also affected in the aftermath of fires. It is important to understand the affects fires have on the quality of our water as well as how fires affect the quantity of water. If water is contaminated by fire runoff, the treatment plants will be slowed down and reservoirs might be at risk to damage. All of which affects the scarcity of water in California.

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