RAPID Collaborative Proposal: Characterization of upland watershed contamination from wildland-urban burning

The multi-institutional team will characterize the effects of the November 2018 Camp fire on watershed water quality. This was the most destructive wildfire in California history, resulting in 15,000 structures and thousands of vehicles burnt. The extensive amount of burned debris has resulted in concerns that the ash can transport toxic metals and organic contaminants into the surrounding waterways. The upland watershed drains directly into Lake Oroville, the largest reservoir in the California State Water Project. This reservoir provides drinking and irrigation water to millions of users. The potential for mobilization is high because precipitation-induced erosion mobilized fire debris into downstream creeks and reservoirs before clean-up could begin. This research will help us understand the concentrations and persistence of contaminants in the watershed post-fire. Such information is necessary to identify potential threats to human and ecological health. Broader impacts to society result from an increased understanding of upland fire impacts on water supplies. Such information can lead to better management strategies to protect water quality.<br/><br/>The Camp fire in November 2018 was the most destructive fire in California history, resulting in 15,000 structures and thousands of vehicles being burnt. There is concern that overland flow of ash and debris from burned structures, cars, and other buildings may transport toxic metals such as arsenic, copper, cadmium, mercury, lead, as well as toxic organic chemicals such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, polychlorinated biphenyls, brominated fire retardants, dioxins and other contaminants into the surrounding waterways. This is particularly important given that the watershed drains directly into Lake Oroville, the largest reservoir in the California State Water Project that provides drinking and irrigation water to millions of users. In addition to the threats to Lake Oroville, Butte Creek hosts the last stable spring run of Chinook Salmon population in all of California. The potential for contaminant mobilization following the Camp Fire is strong because precipitation occurred prior to emergency clean up, resulting in washing of fire debris into downstream creeks and reservoirs. To better characterize these potential threats, a multi-institutional team with complimentary expertise in environmental chemistry and transport will assess the concentrations of these and many other heavy metal and organic pollutants in the Camp Fire watershed for 12 months post-fire. The research team will use this information to evaluate the fate and transport of contaminants from the burn area. Specific research will seek to understand 1) how does burning, ash deposition, and rainfall influence contaminant mobilization within the urban area and in downstream waters, 2) how long will contaminants persist in the watershed post-fire, and 3) what are the acute and chronic threats to human and aquatic health associated with contaminant mobilization into surrounding surface waters. The results of this research will improve our understanding of contaminant fate, persistence, and transport following burning. This information will help urban/rural planners, as well as forest and watershed managers to better identify, mitigate, and reduce threats to water quality resulting from forest fires.<br/><br/>This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.