Assessing the Vulnerability of California Water Utilities to Wildfires

Wildfires are becoming more frequent and destructive in California, and it is essential to quantify their potential impacts on drinking water utilities. This study aims to measure the severity of wildfires in each California water utility based on the exposure frequency and the extent of area burned...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Water resources management 2022-09, Vol.36 (11), p.4183-4199
Main Authors: Lee, Juhee, Nemati, Mehdi, Sanchez, Jose J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Atmospheric Sciences
Civil Engineering
Disaster management
Drinking water
Earth and Environmental Science
Earth Sciences
Emergency preparedness
Environment
Geography
Geotechnical Engineering & Applied Earth Sciences
Groundwater
Hydrogeology
Hydrology/Water Resources
Land management
Service areas
Surface water
Surface-groundwater relations
Vulnerability
Water utilities
Wildfires
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Summary:Wildfires are becoming more frequent and destructive in California, and it is essential to quantify their potential impacts on drinking water utilities. This study aims to measure the severity of wildfires in each California water utility based on the exposure frequency and the extent of area burned by wildfires in each service area. Our quantitative models show an association between water utility characteristics and their vulnerability to wildfires. Findings indicate that wildfire vulnerability is higher in government-owned utilities than private ones, utilities primarily relying on surface water than groundwater, and utilities using local-sourced water than purchased water. Also, we find a stronger association between wildfire vulnerability and large utilities in terms of population served than small or medium ones. Regarding geography, we find wildfire vulnerability is higher in southern and coastal California utilities than in Northern and inland California. These results help water utilities and land managers identify vulnerable locations and develop wildfire management and disaster preparedness strategies.
ISSN:0920-4741
1573-1650
DOI:10.1007/s11269-022-03247-5