Wildfires threaten water quality for years after they burn

Ben Livneh in a jacket and button-down shirt in front of flagstone from a ��ý�Ļ��Ʒ building.

�� Associate Professor Ben��Livneh

Years after wildfires burn forests and watersheds, the contaminants left behind continue to poison rivers and streams across the Western U.S. — much longer than scientists estimated.

A led by CIRES researchers, published today in��Nature Communications Earth & Environment analyzed water quality in more than 500 watersheds across the Western U.S., and is the first large-scale assessment of post-wildfire water quality.

Ben Livneh, an associate professor of civil, environmental and architectural engineering, CIRES fellow and Western Water Assessment director, was the principal investigator and co-author of the study.

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