Water utilities damaged by wildfires: Recovery lessons, mitigation and research recommendations

When wildfires enter populated areas, drinking water infrastructure can become damaged which jeopardizes public safety, health, and economic security. The goal of this study was to identify strategies to reduce wildfire impacts on water utilities that can accelerate recovery. Lessons from the ten participating water utilities, ranging from very small to large service populations, highlight key challenges and recovery insights. The most common fire-caused water system impacts included power loss, pressure loss, and chemical contamination of the water distribution system. Some utility design and response decisions helped limit pressure loss and the spread of fire-caused chemical contamination in the water systems. All utilities conducted water sampling and flushing, with testing volume generally proportional to the extent of water distribution infrastructure damage. Utilities with extensive damage and limited labor and funding recovered more slowly. Generally, the pace of residential reconstruction was more determined by property owner debris removal progress, not water utility repairs. Facility design, policy needs and research recommendations were identified. Several recommended actions can be adopted with little financial cost, while others require consideration during system upgrades and new construction.