Lack of rainfall and snowpack stresses both of California’s main sources of drinking water: underground aquifers and surface water. Runoff, erosion and sediment could occur near areas with moderate and high soil burn severity, although effects may not be seen for several years. In 2020 California experienced megafires that burned three Sierra Nevada watersheds important to California’s water supply. Water systems also depend on power to maintain operations, making them vulnerable to public safety power shutoffs and unplanned outages.Īnd then there are megafires: Super hot and dry conditions combine to create a complex of super-intense fires.The US Geological Survey estimates likelihoods and magnitudes of such post-fire debris flows. The 2015 Butte Fire burned a 12,000-acre section of a watershed, then winter storms carried debris from the fire into the river and reservoir.The Mokelumne watershed, in particular, is at risk of this. Wildfires can lead to ash and sediment running off into water sources when it rains.State water officials said the contamination most likely came from overheated pipe materials, as well as smoke and combustion byproducts. Water samples collected from drinking water in Santa Rosa after the 2017 Tubbs and 2018 Camp Fires tested positive for benzene, a cancer-causing chemical.Wildfires even in remote parts of the state can pollute water that ends up in city taps. Wildfires can directly harm water supplies, such as burning down storage structures and melting pipes, but also indirectly harm by sending up clouds of smoke and loosening soil, which washes debris and ash into watersheds. Seismic activity like the 1992 Landers quake could introduce natural gas or oil into water systems.Quakes could liquify the soil under the Mokelumne Aqueducts, which bring water to the San Francisco Bay Area, according to the East Bay Municipal Utility District.A large reservoir in the Santa Clara Valley Water District had to be drained due to seismic safety concerns.Because these aqueducts supply most of Southern California’s water, officials would have little choice but to impose mandatory water reductions. A 7.8-magnitude quake on the fault would put the three aqueducts out of commission, cutting off some of the city’s water deliveries for as long as two years, according to a scenario evaluated by the city. Parts of the Los Angeles Aqueduct, the California Aqueduct and the Colorado River Aqueduct - all of which bring water to Los Angeles - traverse the San Andreas Fault. Southern California’s reliance on water imported from outside the region puts its supplies at great risk from quakes. Quakes of that magnitude can crack pipes, damage storage systems or release natural gas or oil into aquifers. Damage to water sources and systems can reverberate from hundreds of miles away.Īll it would take to inflict widespread damage on water systems is an earthquake of 6.0 magnitude or greater centered in the “right” place. While scientists are still researching connections between water, climate change and seismic activity, the threat of earthquakes looms large in California.
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