Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management

California has dealt with increasingly disastrous wildfires in recent years. Northern California, and Napa County specifically, are dealing with the effects of these fires years after they are extinguished, and if current trends continue, more counties in California will face similar challenges. A challenge Napa county is tackling is wildfire-related pollution in surface waters that provide potable water to county residents. Water contamination problems are exacerbated when heavy rainfall seasons wash several years’ worth of fire debris, accumulated during drought years, down into surface waters over a limited period of time. These rainfall events can wash debris, ash, and nutrients, such as the phosphorus used in fire retardants, downslope into the reservoirs used to provide drinking water to county residents.

A fire-drought-rainfall cycle deposited excessive wildfire debris into the surface waters of Napa County. In addition to other detrimental effects, the influx of debris led to increased frequency and intensity of freshwater algal blooms deleterious to the aquatic environment. Additionally, filtration equipment used by Napa County to treat surface water for potable use could no longer function correctly due to the extremely high amounts of algae and other debris present. The overtaxed equipment, combined with other wildfire after-effects, created costly water quality issues.

This project will analyze current national and international policies that attempt to mitigate the effects of wildfires on surface water. The project is analyzing the effects of wildfires in Napa specifically due to the data available in the region, the region’s history of fires, and the region’s numerous surface waters. This project will identify and propose mitigation efforts to reduce the negative effects of wildfires on freshwater systems. The project will provide Napa County with information and policy strategies to assist the county with future wildfire events. These documents will also serve as a guide to assist with post-wildfire water issues elsewhere as well.