AURORA, Colo. — Colorado's drought and repeated high fire danger are raising new concerns about the long-term impact on the state's water supply. Aurora Water is warning that wildfires could devastate the water supply for years after the flames are out.
Every drop of water matters right now as the Denver metro tries to mitigate the effects of this year's extremely dry winter across the state. Aurora Water's reservoir levels are currently sitting at 57%.
"We're currently in a pretty historic level of drought," Aurora Water resource specialist Matt Ashley said.
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Ashley said he is not just worried about the drought.
"Wildfire really is the number one threat to our watershed health," Ashley said.
Colorado State University geology professor Ellen Wohl said the problem starts with the leftover ash and sediment after a fire.
Wohl brought up the fact that Coloradans have felt the effects of sediment runoff in the past.
“For example, after the Cameron Peak Fire, the next summer, we had the black hollow debris flow in a tributary, the Poudre [River], and that created extremely high turbidity levels all the way downstream. That's when Fort Collins had to shut off drinking water intakes for a period of time,” Wohl said.
That sediment can also end up settling into Colorado's reservoirs.
"You lose a lot of storage capacity," Ashley said.
It is already happening. The Strontia Springs Reservoir, shared by Aurora and Denver Water, is already 10% full of sediment from past fires. There is an ongoing effort to dredge it up, but the problem remains.
"The worst case scenario is your reservoir fills up with sediment, and you can't use that reservoir anymore, which is a huge problem because it's very expensive and takes a lot of time to build a new reservoir," Ashley said. “We would have to go and build new reservoirs and find new capacity and new places to store that water, and that would just cost money, and basically, at the end of the day, increase your water bill.”
Then there is contamination.
A recent study led by Ben Livneh, president of Western Water Assessment and CU Boulder associate professor of civil engineering, shows these effects stick around way longer than once thought.
"Not just for one year or two years, but sometimes for up to eight years," Livneh said.
The first-of-its-kind large-scale study of 500+ Western U.S. watersheds found that wildfires can contaminate water with organic carbon, phosphorus, nitrogen, and sediment for up to eight years.
While researchers knew fire ash and soil damage affected water quality to some extent, previous studies only examined local impacts rather than regional patterns.
"It dramatically increases the cost of filtering and treating the water," Wohl added.
While there is no one-size-fits-all solution, Livneh said this could be a chance for municipalities to prepare.
"This can be [through] a number of different infrastructure investments or modifications," said Livneh.
Aurora Water says its now focusing its efforts on doubling down on fire prevention efforts with partners like the U.S. Forest Service and Colorado State Forest Service.
"Across the board, just a whole lot of collaboration and partnership to prevent these fire issues from happening," Ashley said.
Ashley said it is also up to everyone across the Front Range to make the most of the water available.
"Definitely make sure to follow those fire restrictions. The fire bans, the fireworks bans, things of that nature," Ashley said.
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