Tap Water Quality Impacted by Wildfires

'Chocolate Milk Shake-Like' Debris Mixture Overwhelms Treatment Plants, School Of Mines Study Says

Alan Gathright, New Media Producer | TheDenverChannel.com

GOLDEN, Colo. -- Rain runoff following a wildfire can compromise drinking water quality and overwhelm water treatment plants with a "chocolate milk shake-like mix" of debris, according to a new study by the Colorado School of Mines.

This can affect tap water that might have a smoky taste and could fail to meet federal drinking water standards, says engineering graduate students whose study suggests ways cities government can protect drinking water after a wildfire.

This is a real-time risk for communities like Colorado Springs, where the Waldo Canyon Fire has scorches 15,324 acres of hillside terrain, and the National Weather Service had issued a flash flood watch for the wildfire's "burn scar" Wednesday afternoon.

In the study, School of Mines graduate researchers worked with the city of Golden on scenarios exploring how a fire in the Golden area would adversely affect the water supply in Clear Creek, the city's source of drinking water.

"This project simulated a range of detrimental wildfire run-off conditions utilizing a surface water treatment pilot plant at the Colorado School of Mines in close collaboration with the City of Golden's drinking water treatment plant," said Professor Jörg Drewes.

The study found that rain runoff mixes leftover wildfire debris and sediment that can thwart purifying mechanisms inside downstream water treatment plants.

"While impacts of wildfires have been studied by scientists from forestry, biology and hydrology, this study is the first that combines these experiences with water treatment engineering and focuses on adverse effects on drinking water quality and appropriate response strategies," Drewes said.

Here's a link to the study: http://tinyurl.com/7lee3pa

47% of Bottled Water is Purified Tap Water

Do you know where your bottled water comes from?

Artesian, spring, purified, and sparkling waters may be treated differently or come from different places

Consumer Reports magazine: July 2012

Sales of bottled water are on the rise, increasing 2 percent, to $7.8 billion, from August 2010 to August 2011 in supermarkets, drugstores, gas and convenience stores, and mass merchants (excluding Walmart), according to SymphonyIRI Group, a market-research company.

If you're going to pay for a product you could get for free, it helps to know what you're buying, so below you'll find a water glossary. Along with the information that follows, note that you may see “glacier water” and “mountain water” on bottles, but there's no standard definition for those terms.

Whatever the bottle says, don't be misled by crisp blue labels and pictures of mountains. Forty-seven percent of the bottled water sold in the U.S. is tap water that's been purified, according to data from the Beverage Marketing Association, a trade group. If you're concerned about the water quality in your area but don't want to pay for bottled water, check out our review of water filters.

Artesian	Water obtained from a well that taps a confined aquifer, an underground layer of rock or sand that contains water. Example: Fiji Natural Artesian Water.
Distilled	Water that has been boiled and then recondensed from the steam that the boiling produces. Distillation kills microbes and removes minerals, giving water a flat taste. Example: Glacéau Smartwater.
Mineral	Groundwater that naturally contains at least 250 parts per million of dissolved solids. All minerals and other trace elements must be present in the water when it emerges at the source. Example: Calistoga.
P.W.S.	Public water source, also known as municipal water supply, or tap water. Fun fact: Aquafina, one of the top 10 selling domestic brands, used to say “P.W.S.” on its label—but changed that in 2007 under pressure from Corporate Accountability International to make clear that the water came from a public supply and not some pristine mountain spring called P.W.S.
Purified	Water from any source that has been treated to remove chemicals and pathogens according to standards set by the U.S. Pharmacopoeia. Must contain no more than 10 parts per million of dissolved solids. Distillation, deionization, and reverse osmosis are all purification methods. Examples: Aquafina, Dasani.
Sparkling	Water that contains carbon dioxide at an amount equal to what it contained when it emerged from its source. Carbon dioxide lost during the treatment process may be added back. (Carbonated waters such as soda water and seltzer are considered soft drinks, not bottled waters.) Example: Perrier.
Spring	Water derived from an underground formation from which water flows naturally to the Earth’s surface. Spring water must be collected at the spring or through a borehole tapping the underground formation (aquifer) feeding the spring. Examples: Arrowhead Mountain Spring Water (Nestlé), Evian.

Discolored, smelly tap water. That can't leave a good taste in your mouth

Residents near Lake Houston complain of smelly, discolored water

KHOU 11 News,  Houston, Texas

HOUSTON—Residents in a brand new neighborhood on the shores of Lake Houston say the biggest problem they have is what drew them here in the first place: the water.

It’s not the water in the lake, but the water coming from their taps that is the trouble. They said the water is discolored brown, white, even pink sometimes and horrible smelling.

Hundreds of residents met Thursday night to try and decide exactly what they can do to get the problem fixed.

The MUD district said that it is doing all it can, most recently sending a letter to residents telling them about a hyper chlorination program that started last week.

The water is a mix of the lake and well water, and people who live here say it is still a problem.

One resident showed us the water in his bathroom sink. Read more...