The United States Environmental Protection Agency is offering a free webinar as part of their small systems monthly series. A certificate of attendance will be offered for this webinar as well. The toxins released by wildfires can make their way into the water system, and in light of the current environment the information is more useful than ever. There will be an optional Q&A session from 3:00 to 3:30.
You can register here: attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/2152789201095229455
Detritus material in forest watersheds is the major terrestrial source of dissolved organic matter (DOM) and disinfection byproduct (DBP) precursors in water bodies used as drinking water sources and is also a fuel that can ignite wildfires. In these watersheds, hot temperatures and dry conditions increase the likelihood of high-severity wildfires. To help reduce this risk, low-severity prescribed burning is used as a forest management practice to reduce fuel loads from forest
floor detritus material. In either high- or low-severity fires, DOM exported to source waters from managed watersheds is likely to have different characteristics and treatability compared to DOM exported from unburned watersheds. These potential source water quality
changes may require that drinking water utilities adapt their treatment processes to account for these changes. Modeling and decision support tools can help explore treatability and adaptation strategies for these impacted water systems.
With presenters speaking on specialties from environmental engineering to biogeochemistry, there will be plenty of valuable knowledge.