Response and Recovery to Wildfire Caused Drinking Water Contamination

Wildfires can damage buried drinking water systems as well as private drinking water wells and building plumbing, making them unsafe to use. Since 2017, a growing number of wildfires have prompted chemical drinking water contamination in the United States. Levels found in some water systems have exceeded hazardous waste limits and posed an immediate health risk. To help households and building owners understand key wildfire drinking water contamination public safety issues, resources were compiled below. These resources will also be of interest to public health officials, water providers, municipalities, emergency management, insurance companies, nonprofit agencies, elected officials, and consultants.

Questions can be directed to Dr. Andrew Whelton at awhelton@purdue.edu.

New Studies!

Please see below.

Resources for Households, Private Well Owners, and Public Health Officials

Here is a list of chemicals to test for (as of May 2022) to find chemical contamination in wildfire impacted drinking water systems:

List of Chemicals in Wildfire Impacted Water Distribution Systems [Updated August 2023]

These 1 page information sheets provide households and public health officials considerations for water system, inspection, testing, and potential safe drinking water options when the plumbing is unsafe. These documents were developed based on firsthand experience investigating contamination after wildfire, building plumbing, sampling, decontamination, and advising local, county state, and federal agencies. Information in these documents is partly based on practices from several health departments who have responded to wildfire caused drinking water contamination disasters and also influenced by our firsthand experiences and testing.

After a Wildfire: Water Safety Considerations for Private Wells [May 16, 2021, Prepared by the Center for Plumbing Safety]
After a Wildfire: Water Safety Considerations Inside Buildings [May 16, 2021, Prepared by the Center for Plumbing Safety]
Attention: Persons impacted by wildfire should seek specific advice from their local health department.

Resources for Agriculture Property Owners, Agriculture Officials, and Elected Officials

This 1 page information sheet provides agriculture property owners (i.e., ranchers, farmers, etc.) considerations for water system, inspection, testing, and potential alternate water supply options. This document was developed based on firsthand experience investigating wildfire damage to agriculture businesses in Hawaii after the 2023 wildfires.

After a Wildfire: Water Safety Considerations for Agricultural Water Systems [March 8, 2024, Prepared by the Center for Plumbing Safety]

Attention: Advice should be sought from local department of agriculture and extension agencies.

Resources for Emergency Management, Water Utility, Public Health, and Elected Officials

This video helps prepare officials for water system damage scenarios. Wildfires can damage water distribution system infrastructure both physically –and– chemically. Some damage may not be visible. Hazardous waste scale drinking water chemical contamination can be caused. This presentation does not cover all situations, but instead provides an introduction for the viewer. More information and help can be obtained by contacting the Center for Plumbing Safety.

This video helps describes lessons learned by the State of New MExico and Oregon in response to wildfires and also Purdue University researchers.

Lessons Learned Webinar States New Mexico, Oregon, and Purdue University (September 2022): https://youtu.be/kFtZtcgRfJM

Various agencies have issued guidance documents for utilities looking to understand how to better respond to and recover from drinking water contamination caused by wildfire.

Hawai'i Department of Health. Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) Fact Sheet for Maui Residents Impacted by Wildfires Master - VOCs Fact Sheet (hawaii.gov) [October 2023]
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Addressing Contamination of Drinking Water Distribution Systems from Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) [September 2021]
Oregon Health Agency Post-wildfire VOC Sampling Guidance for Public Water Systems (oregon.gov) [October 2020]

Public utilities and municipalities can seek reimbursement for the expenses associated with natural disaster response and recovery under certain conditions. The U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency or FEMA issued a policy in 2020 specific to wildfire caused water system contamination.

FEMA. Federal Insurance and Mitigation. December 2020. Replacing water systems that have been burned and have caused contamination. Washington, D.C. USA. Freely available online: https://www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/2020-07/fema_DRRA-1205-implementation-job-aid.pdf. "Wildfires generate intense heat that can adversely impact water system components both on the surface and underground. If intense heat modifies the chemical properties of water system components, chemicals might leach into the water, causing contamination. Infrastructure retrofits that reduce future risk to existing utility systems, including water systems, are eligible for HMA funding. The mitigation measures that are applied to the utility system can be multi-hazard to address more than just the hazard that caused the damage. Because HMA grants can be used to address undamaged portions of a utility system, they can be used to mitigate system components that have not been damaged but have properties like other systems that have sustained damage as well as undamaged portions of systems that have been partially damaged."
Public entities should become familiar with FEMA's hazard mitigation assistance (HMA).

In September 2021, the U.S. EPA issued this guidance document for utilities looking to understand how to better respond to and recover from drinking water contamination caused by wildfire. This document includes direct feedback sought by U.S. EPA from Purdue University researchers and its partners.

Addressing Contamination of Drinking Water Distribution Systems from Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) [September 2021, Prepared by the U.S. EPA]

In 2023, the National Environmental Health Association (NEHA) issued this guidance document for public health departments to understand how to better respond to and recover from health risks caused by wildfire. This document includes direct feedback sought by NEHA from Purdue University researchers and other organizations.

WILDFIRE RESPONSE: Guide for Environmental Public Health Professionals [Summer 2023, Prepared by the NEHA]

In 2023, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued this guidance document on inspecting and tesitng private drinking water wells after a wildfire. This document includes discoveries from Purdue University researchers and other organizations.

Private Wells After a Wildfire [2023, Prepared by the CDC]

Other Information and Resources

Building Water Essentials Course – Public Health: Self paced, 10 hour online short-course

The Building Water Essentials course provides a baseline understanding of how building water systems are designed, how they operate and when problems arise, and how those problems can be resolved – information that is not readily available for public health officials (and others dealing with the issues) to access in a single package anywhere else. Topics include system components, codes, standards, water quality, flow, and the potential health risks, including water quality investigations and remediation. This course is 1 CEU and can be accessed here: https://engineering.purdue.edu/online/certifications/building-water-essentials

Public Summaries about Wildfire Water Contamination Studies

August 2023, The Conversation. After Maui fires, human health risks linger in the air, water and even surviving buildings
May 2021, The Conversation. Wildfires are contaminating drinking water systems, and it's more widespread than people realize.
September 2020, The Conversation. Wildfires can leave toxic drinking water behind – here’s how to protect the public.
December 2020, The Conversation. Plastic pipes are polluting drinking water systems after wildfires – it’s a risk in urban fires, too.

Peer-Reviewed Scientific Studies about Wildfires, Water Contamination, and Plumbing Repair

2023, Residential Water Softeners Release Carbon, Consume Chlorine, and Require Remediation after Hydrocarbon Contamination. Environmental Science and Technology. Freely available online: https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.3c00700. Millions of water softeners are used in residences across North America yet their impact on water quality and ability to be decontaminated following hydrocarbon exposure has received little scrutiny. Laboratory testing of actual water softeners was conducted. Results indicate the need for health officials and building owners to pay attention to and remove contamination from these devices for safe plumbing use.
2023, Wildfire damage and contamination to private drinking water wells. AWWA Water Science. Freely available online: https://doi.org/10.1002/aws2.1319. Following the 2021 Marshall Fire, this study discovered post-wildfire public health guidance for private well and plumbing owners was inconsistent and no prior studies had been conducted. By visiting and sampling properties with drinking water wells, water contaminantion was found, and best practices and research needs were identified. Study results also highlight the need to support to under resourced water systems and households.
2023, The Marshall Fire: Scientific and policy needs for water system disaster response. AWWA Water Science. Freely available online: https://doi.org/10.1002/aws2.1318. This study describes lessons from the 2021 Marshall Fire, the most destructive and costliest fire in Colorado’s history. Decisions, resources, expertise, and response limitations for water systems and agencies during and after the wildfire were described. Actions were identified for utilities, governments, and researchers that could help communities minimize wildfire impacts, better protect workers and the population, and enable water systems to more rapidly respond and recover.
2020, Wildfire caused widespread drinking water distribution network contamination. AWWA Water Science. Freely available online: https://doi.org/10.1002/aws2.1183. This study describes lessons from the Tubbs Fire (2017) and Camp Fire (2018) where widespread drinking water chemical contamination was discovered in the water distribution network and not in the source water after the fire. In both disasters, drinking water exceeded state and federal government‐defined exposure limits for several volatile organic compound (VOC) contaminants (e.g., benzene at 40,000 µg/L [Tubbs] and >2,217 µg/L [Camp]). This work outlines factors that influence wildfire‐induced drinking water quality threats based on the findings from these two fires and explores related scientific and policy issues.
2020, Drinking water contamination from the thermal degradation of plastics: implications for wildfire and structure fire response. Environmental Science: Water Research and Technology. Freely available online: https://doi.org/10.1039/D0EW00836B. This study discovered that heating of various plastic drinking water pipes (i.e., PEX, HDPE, PP, PVC, and CPVC) can be a source of drinking water contamination.
2021, Water safety attitudes, risk perception, experiences, and education for households impacted by the 2018 Camp Fire, California. Natural Hazards. Online: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-021-04714-9. This study describes household and public health lessons from the 2018 Camp Fire, California's most destructive wildfire in history. A survey was conducted to understand how the needs and questions of households affected who were faced with the delivery of contaminated water and plumbing for more than 6 months.