The Good Men Project
Become a Premium Member
We have pioneered the largest worldwide conversation about what it means to be a good man in the 21st century.
Your support of our work is inspiring and invaluable.
Wildfires Are Contaminating Drinking Water Systems, and It’s More Widespread Than People Realize
Small water systems serving housing developments, mobile home parks, businesses and small towns have been particularly hard-hit.
More than 58,000 fires scorched the United States last year, and 2021 is on track to be even drier. What many people don’t realize is that these wildfires can do lasting damage beyond the reach of the flames – they can contaminate entire drinking water systems with carcinogens that last for months after the blaze. That water flows to homes, contaminating the plumbing, too.
NationofChange
Drinking water should be assumed to be chemically unsafe until proven otherwise.
More than 58,000 fires scorched the United States last year, and 2021 is on track to be even drier. What many people donât realize is that these wildfires can do lasting damage beyond the reach of the flamesâthey can contaminate entire drinking water systems with carcinogens that last for months after the blaze. That water flows to homes, contaminating the plumbing, too.
Over the past four years, wildfires have contaminated drinking water distribution networks and building plumbing for more than 240,000 people.
Small water systems serving housing developments, mobile home parks, businesses and small towns have been particularly hard-hit. Most didnât realize their water was unsafe until weeks to months after the fire.
When wildfires swept through the hills near Santa Cruz, California, in 2020, they released toxic chemicals into the water supplies of at least two communities. One sample found benzene, a carcinogen, at 40 times the state’s drinking water standard.
Our testing has now confirmed a source of these chemicals, and it’s clear that wildfires aren’t the only blazes that put drinking water systems at risk.
In a new study, we heated plastic water pipes commonly used in buildings and water systems to test how they would respond to nearby fires.
The results, released Dec. 14, show how easily wildfires could trigger widespread drinking water contamination. They also show the risks when only part of a building catches fire and the rest remains in use. In some of our tests, heat exposure caused more than 100 chemicals to leach from the damaged plastics.
Dr. Amisha Shah’s research interests focus on understanding the role of various physico-chemical processes on water quality during water treatment, sustainable water reuse, ballast water treatment, and CO2-capture technologies. Specific interests include evaluating chemical reaction kinetics and byproduct formation during disinfection (e.g. chlorination, ozonation, and UV treatment) and evaluating mass transport mechanisms and contaminant rejection during membrane filtration.
Experience