After the fire: Montana State professor studies how wildfires can threaten drinking water quality – Bozeman Daily Chronicle

After the fire: Montana State professor studies how wildfires can threaten drinking water quality – Bozeman Daily Chronicle

 

Report on Water Source Diversification as a Resilience Strategy Against Wildfire Impacts

Introduction: The 2020 Bridger Mountains Wildfire Case Study

In 2020, a significant wildfire event in the Bridger Mountains near Bozeman resulted in the destruction of 28 homes and damage to over 8,000 acres of forest. A critical post-disaster consequence, the contamination of the municipal water supply, was largely averted. This report analyzes the factors contributing to this outcome, with a specific focus on their alignment with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Analysis of Water System Resilience and Alignment with SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation

The city of Bozeman’s resilience against post-fire water contamination is directly attributable to its strategic use of diversified water sources. By drawing from both groundwater and surface water located in separate mountain ranges, the municipality demonstrated a robust approach to ensuring water security.

This strategy is a practical implementation of principles outlined in SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation). The primary benefits of this diversified system include:

  • Operational Flexibility: The ability to switch between sources provided the drinking water treatment plant with the necessary flexibility to manage emergency response without service interruption.
  • Contaminant Mitigation: It limited the impact of post-fire runoff, which typically contains high levels of ash, soil, and organic matter, thereby safeguarding public health and ensuring the continued availability of safe drinking water (SDG Target 6.1).
  • Sustainable Supply: This approach supports sustainable water withdrawals and management, crucial for long-term water security as outlined in SDG Target 6.4.

Implications for Sustainable Urban Development and Climate Action (SDG 11 & SDG 13)

The Bozeman case serves as a model for SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities) by highlighting how infrastructure planning can build resilience against natural disasters. According to Amanda Hohner, assistant professor of civil engineering at Montana State University, communities relying on a single water source are far more vulnerable. Bozeman’s multi-source system is a key component of disaster risk reduction, directly addressing SDG Target 11.5.

Furthermore, as wildfires become more frequent and intense due to climate change, such adaptive measures are essential for SDG 13 (Climate Action). Investing in resilient water infrastructure is a critical step in strengthening adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards (SDG Target 13.1).

The Role of Ecosystem Management in Water Security (SDG 15: Life on Land)

A contributing factor to Bozeman’s water security is the relatively undeveloped state of its watershed. The minimal human and agricultural impact on the water sources ensures a higher baseline quality of water. This underscores the importance of SDG 15 (Life on Land), which calls for the conservation and sustainable use of terrestrial and inland freshwater ecosystems.

Protecting watersheds from extensive development is a fundamental strategy for preserving water quality and quantity, directly supporting the objectives of SDG 15 and reinforcing the foundation for achieving SDG 6.

Key Findings

  1. Source Diversification is Critical: Relying on multiple, geographically separate water sources is a highly effective strategy for ensuring water supply continuity and safety during and after natural disasters like wildfires.
  2. Watershed Protection is Foundational: Maintaining undeveloped or minimally developed watersheds is integral to preserving high-quality water sources, reducing the burden on treatment facilities and supporting ecosystem health (SDG 15).
  3. Integrated SDG Achievement: The strategies employed by Bozeman demonstrate an integrated approach to sustainability, where actions to secure clean water (SDG 6) simultaneously advance goals for resilient cities (SDG 11), climate adaptation (SDG 13), and ecosystem protection (SDG 15).
  4. Vulnerability of Single-Source Systems: Communities dependent on a single water source face significantly higher risks of service disruption and contamination from environmental emergencies.

1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?

The article highlights issues related to several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by discussing the impacts of a wildfire on a community’s water supply and the importance of resilient infrastructure.

  • SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation

    This is the most central SDG in the article. The text focuses on the protection of Bozeman’s drinking water from contamination after a wildfire and the city’s strategy of using multiple water sources to ensure a safe and reliable supply.

  • SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities

    The article discusses the resilience of the city of Bozeman to a natural disaster (wildfire). It mentions the destruction of homes and the successful mitigation of a wider crisis (water contamination), which relates to making cities and human settlements safe and resilient.

  • SDG 13: Climate Action

    Wildfires are a type of natural disaster whose frequency and intensity are often linked to climate change. The article’s focus on responding to a wildfire and building resilience in essential services like water supply directly connects to strengthening resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards.

  • SDG 15: Life on Land

    The article explicitly mentions the environmental damage caused by the wildfire, stating it “scorching more than 8,000 acres of forested foothills.” This directly relates to the protection and restoration of terrestrial ecosystems, particularly forests.

2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?

Based on the issues discussed, several specific targets can be identified:

  1. SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation

    • Target 6.1: “By 2030, achieve universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water for all.” The article’s core theme is the effort to maintain the safety of Bozeman’s drinking water in the face of post-fire contamination risks.
    • Target 6.5: “By 2030, implement integrated water resources management at all levels…” The article highlights Bozeman’s successful strategy of using “groundwater and surface water sources in different mountain ranges,” which is a practical example of integrated water resources management to ensure supply and quality.
  2. SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities

    • Target 11.5: “By 2030, significantly reduce the number of deaths and the number of people affected and substantially decrease the direct economic losses… caused by disasters…” The article describes how the city “largely avoided” the negative impact of water contamination, thereby reducing the number of people affected by the disaster’s secondary effects. It also quantifies direct loss through the “28 homes” destroyed.
    • Target 11.b: “…implementing integrated policies and plans towards… resilience to disasters…” Bozeman’s water system, with its multiple sources and operational flexibility, is an example of an implemented plan that increases resilience to disasters like wildfires.
  3. SDG 13: Climate Action

    • Target 13.1: “Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters in all countries.” The article provides a case study of a community’s resilience. The ability to manage water sources to avoid contamination demonstrates adaptive capacity to the impacts of a natural disaster.
  4. SDG 15: Life on Land

    • Target 15.3: “By 2030, combat desertification, restore degraded land and soil…” The article quantifies the extent of land degradation caused by the wildfire, noting it scorched “more than 8,000 acres of forested foothills,” which is a direct measure of land affected by a disaster.

3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?

The article mentions or implies several quantitative and qualitative indicators that can be used to measure progress.

  1. Indicators for SDG 6

    • Water Quality: The article implies the monitoring of water quality by mentioning potential “contaminants such as ash, soil, and organic matter.” The absence of these contaminants in the drinking water is a key indicator of success.
    • Diversity of Water Sources: The existence of “multiple water sources” (groundwater and surface water) is presented as a key indicator of a resilient and well-managed water system.
  2. Indicators for SDG 11

    • Number of Housing Units Damaged/Destroyed: The article provides a precise figure: “destroying 28 homes.” This is a direct indicator of the disaster’s impact on infrastructure.
    • Continuity of Essential Services: The statement that the negative impact on drinking water was “largely avoided” implies an indicator related to the percentage of the population whose essential services (like safe water) were maintained during and after a disaster.
  3. Indicators for SDG 13

    • Operational Flexibility of Infrastructure: The article points to the “flexibility with their drinking water treatment plant operations” as a measure of adaptive capacity.
  4. Indicators for SDG 15

    • Proportion of Land Degraded: The article provides a specific measurement of the land area affected: “more than 8,000 acres of forested foothills.” This serves as a direct indicator of land degradation.

4. Create a table with three columns titled ‘SDGs, Targets and Indicators” to present the findings from analyzing the article.

SDGs Targets Indicators
SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation 6.1: Achieve universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water for all. Absence of contaminants (ash, soil, organic matter) in drinking water post-disaster.
SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation 6.5: Implement integrated water resources management at all levels. Existence of multiple and diverse water sources (groundwater and surface water).
SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities 11.5: Significantly reduce the number of people affected and decrease direct economic losses caused by disasters. Number of homes destroyed (28); Avoidance of disruption to the drinking water supply.
SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities 11.b: Implement integrated policies and plans towards resilience to disasters. A functioning water system with multiple sources demonstrating a city’s resilience plan in action.
SDG 13: Climate Action 13.1: Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters. Flexibility of drinking water treatment plant operations; Having multiple water sources as an adaptive strategy.
SDG 15: Life on Land 15.3: Combat desertification, restore degraded land and soil. Area of forest land degraded by fire (more than 8,000 acres).

Source: bozemandailychronicle.com