British Columbia Blazes Could Impact Local Water Supply For Years

Smoke isn’t the only way wildfires affect people and places far from the flames. Researchers are studying how blackened forests affect ecosystems and water quality far downstream just as hundreds of blazes in British Columbia are darkening skies as far east as Manitoba. “Fires are particularly hard on water,” said Monica Emelko, a water treatment engineer at the University of Waterloo and a member of the Southern Rockies Watershed Project. “If the intensity is there and enough of the watershed is burned, you can have a very significant impact on the water supply and that impact can be long-lasting.” …Emelko said nutrients from fires can show up far downstream and last for years. “They can sit there in riverbeds and reservoirs and can create a legacy of effects.” The challenges aren’t going away.