Wildfire damage to drinking water systems can significantly delay a community’s economic recovery. The costliest disaster in Colorado’s history, the Marshall Fire of 2021, resulted in more than $2 billion in losses. Six drinking water systems were directly in the fire’s path.
While communities and governments nationwide have been facing the impact of these disasters on drinking water systems, no national synthesis of scientific and policy needs has been conducted. Now, a study has outlined the scientific and policy needs specific to drinking water systems’ resilience to wildfires.At the request of two Colorado cities shortly following the Marshall Fire, Purdue University researchers provided
