Wildfire: Effects from recent fires and division resources

The 2021 fire season included three of the largest wildfires in Colorado’s history:

• Cameron Peak Fire
• East Troublesome Fire
• Pine Gulch Fire

Many other areas were impacted by wildfires also:

• Grizzly Creek Fire
• Williams Fork Fire 

These natural disasters have significant and long lasting impacts on water quality such as sediment/debris flows, decreased soil infiltration and erosion potential, and higher levels of nutrients and metals. The Water Quality Control Division (division) is one of many federal/state and local partners that provide resources and technical assistance when these impacts occur. The division response involves multiple disciplines including public water system acute team support, source water data sharing/evaluation and technical/financial assistance on watershed restoration efforts. 

These fires significantly impact watershed functions and necessitate collaborative work groups in impacted regions. One example is the Grizzly Creek State Recovery Task Force that is focused on the post wildfire effects in Glenwood Canyon and downstream on the Colorado River. In late July/early August of 2021, the post wildfire impacts caused mudslides and highway closures on the I-70 Glenwood Canyon corridor. The division is currently working with the Office of Emergency Management, Colorado Department of Transportation, Colorado Water Conservation Board, and a diverse range of local governments/stakeholders to develop a downstream notification system for Colorado River water users. This system is meant to provide downstream users on the Colorado River with early warning and notification of hazards and potential water quality impacts from watershed events and cleanup operations. This notification system will assist water users to make operational decisions to reduce impacts from the post wildfire conditions.

Other wildfire restoration activities involve the division’s Nonpoint Source (NPS) Program that has provided over $5 million in funding for wildfire related work in the past 20 years. Last year the Nonpoint Source Program’s Request for Applications provided priority points for post-wildfire projects and a waiver from the EPA for the watershed based plan requirement. This year the nonpoint source program is providing additional post-wildfire funding for 2022 projects thanks to the Power Authority Board. To provide context of the long-term process of restoration efforts, a recent Nonpoint Source Post-wildfire project success story is the Hayman Restoration Project. Horse Creek and West Creek were added to the 303(d) list of impaired waters for aquatic life due to post-fire flooding and erosion a decade after the Hayman fire. After the implementation of numerous best management practices, these waterbodies were successfully restored and removed from the 303(d) list for aquatic life in 2020. The NPS Program is also incorporating wildfire risk when prioritizing protection projects into it’s updated NPS Management Plan, such as a source water protection project in Southwest Colorado.

To further assist water providers, counties, tribes and municipalities impacted by wildfires, the Source Water and Emerging Contaminants Unit in the Water Quality Control Division worked with a large stakeholder group led by the City of Boulder Water Utilities Department to develop a Post-Fire Playbook. The playbook is a guidance document to help navigate the complexities surrounding post-fire rehabilitation. For the playbook and other post-fire resources please visit the post-fire playbook website.

 ➽  Kristen Hughes, Source Water Protection Specialist