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Impacts of Forest Fires on Drinking Water Quality in North America Chiang, Amity

Abstract

The amount of area burned by wildfire has greatly increased due to human and industrial practices. Therefore, it is crucial to identify the hazards and take actions to prevent the frequent occurrence of wildfires. This research essay is focused on the effect of forest fires in North America on drinking water quality. Review of journal articles, government websites, and other electronic sources indicates that concentrations of nitrogen (especially on nitrate and ammonium), which can be toxic and harmful to human health, typically increase following wildfire. Post fire concentrations of nitrogen in streams depend on the amount of soil erosion and runoff. Other parameters that are affected include chemicals in fire retardant, water temperature, and water pH levels. This essay also examines several postfire options to serve as long term preventative measures.

Item Metadata

Title
Impacts of Forest Fires on Drinking Water Quality in North America
Creator
Chiang, Amity
Date Issued
2010-04-12
Description
The amount of area burned by wildfire has greatly increased due to human and industrial practices. Therefore, it is crucial to identify the hazards and take actions to prevent the frequent occurrence of wildfires. This research essay is focused on the effect of forest fires in North America on drinking water quality. Review of journal articles, government websites, and other electronic sources indicates that concentrations of nitrogen (especially on nitrate and ammonium), which can be toxic and harmful to human health, typically increase following wildfire. Post fire concentrations of nitrogen in streams depend on the amount of soil erosion and runoff. Other parameters that are affected include chemicals in fire retardant, water temperature, and water pH levels. This essay also examines several postfire options to serve as long term preventative measures.
Subject
Nutrients; Nitrogen; Sediments; Turbidity; Fire retardant; Rehabilitation
Genre
Graduating Project
Type
Text
Language
eng
Series
University of British Columbia. FRST 497
Date Available
2011-02-23
Provider
Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
Rights
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
DOI
10.14288/1.0103513
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/2429/31674
Affiliation
Forestry, Faculty of
Campus
UBCV
Peer Review Status
Unreviewed
Scholarly Level
Undergraduate
Rights URI
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
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Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International