Bigger, more frequent wildfires threaten water supplies across the US

详细摘要

Wildfires leave behind charred trees and scorched vegetation that can contaminate streams and rivers supplying drinking water to much of the country, with new studies showing that the contamination could persist for more than a decade.

Climate change and increasingly strong El Niño events, which intensify drought conditions, have contributed to larger and more frequent wildfires in the United States. So far in 2026, 68,179 blazes have burned more than 3.8 million hectares.

A Los Angeles County Fire Department Engine and other emergency vehicles stage near the Bryson fire on the outskirts of Malibu, California, the US, October 15, 2026. /VCG

Rain carries ash and organic matter from burned hillsides into streams supplying water treatment plants. Communities are working to adapt, but solutions can take years.

Las Vegas, New Mexico, went without water for months after the Hermit's Peak/Calf Canyon wildfire contaminated the Gallinas River in 2022. Since then, the city has provided bottled water and brought in water from nearby towns while raising funds for a new treatment plant. Karen Pettine, owner of the Hillcrest Restaurant for 50 years, said the crisis forced the business to close. Mayor David Romero said climate change has made previously reliable conditions less predictable.

Wildfires are a natural part of forest ecosystems, but their increasing severity has made watersheds – areas that capture, filter and regulate water flow – more vulnerable, said Amanda Hohner, an assistant professor at Montana State University specializing in wildfires and water quality.

Forested watersheds supply water to nearly two-thirds of US municipalities, according to Carli Brucker, lead author of a University of Colorado Boulder study comparing water quality in hundreds of burned and unburned basins. The study found that the impacts can last up to eight years.

Garrett McKay, an assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering at Texas A&M University, said utilities are seeking…

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