Rainfall after fire brings immediate relief but the environmental effects can sometimes be as significant as the fire itself. Edith Cowan University (ECU) environmental experts Professor Pierre Horwitz and Dr. Dave Blake are investigating the long-term impacts of water supply contamination after fire has swept through a region. Over the next four years in collaboration with the Water Corporation, the ECU researchers will lead a comprehensive investigation of forested water catchments in the Perth Hills from Mundaring Weir to Collie.
Dr. Blake said that water quality is not at the forefront of people’s minds during the management of a fire, but this could result in problems with community’s water supply for years. “After vegetation cover is burned, and the soil is scorched, what’s left is the concentrated and chemically transformed ash, exposed and vulnerable to wind and water erosion. Heavy rainfall will wash this ash, topsoil and incompletely burned vegetation into streams and water reservoirs,” he said.
The ECU team completed an initial study in the Yarloop region in South West WA after the devastating bushfire destroyed more than 69,000 hectares of land in 2016. Professor Horwitz said water was one of the big concerns of the Yarloop community after the megafire. “After the danger had passed Yarloop residents were looking for immediate guidance on how to protect their water assets from the effects of the fire. So, having a better understanding of the long-term consequences for water would be a powerful tool to help to guide fire management protocol,” he said.
Source: Phys.org
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