When wildfires compromise California’s drinking water, utilities lean on this professor’s advice
… After ruling out the usual culprits for benzene contamination, such as a gasoline spill or leaking underground storage tanks, utility staff were left with a startling realization: The wildfire [2017 Tubbs Fire] had contaminated the water system. … Staff at Santa Rosa Water started reaching out to experts with experience responding to chemical spills, including a Purdue University engineering professor named Andrew Whelton. … Since then, at least eight wildfires have contaminated public drinking water systems across the United States, and Whelton has become the de facto national authority on response and recovery.
Other water contamination news:
- KGVT (San Diego): UCSD, Scripps forecasting model to predict sewage contamination
- Department of Energy: Blog: Progress toward cleanup continues at energy technology engineering center
- The Colorado Sun (Denver): Gas spill near Durango estimated at 97,000 gallons, largest since 2016
- KJZZ (Phoenix, Ariz.): A mining project in Santa Cruz County threatens the residential water supply
