As wildfires burned across Los Angeles in early January, nearly 200,000 people were put under evacuation orders. In the weeks since, these residents have slowly started returning, some to properties that were lost to the fires and others to structures that seemed to be untouched but where less visible threats lurk. Potential contaminants could be coursing through the water pipes beneath their feet; the pipes can suffer fire damage that takes days, if not weeks, to address. 

Within the first 24 hours of the two largest ignitions, the Eaton and Palisades Fires, multiple zip codes in LA county were placed under water warnings, ranging from “boil before using” to “do not use” advisories. In Santa Monica, signs on door handles blared in bold red font, “Do not drink the tap water.” In Altadena, National Guard members stationed at evacuation zone entry points were equipped with stacks of bottled water to distribute. More than five weeks after the fires first sparked, many of these advisories and uncertainties remain. Similar challenges plagued residents after other destructive wildfires, including the 2018 Camp Fire, the 2021 Marshall Fire, and the 2023 Lahaina Fire, all of which impacted the infrastructure of local water systems. 

Other climate-related disasters, including hurricanes, floods, and extreme temperatures can also contaminate or damage water systems. Following Hurricane Helene’s devastating impact in Asheville, North Carolina, last fall, it took weeks to get water flowing again and nearly two months for authorities to deem that water safe to drink. Throughout this time, residents reported coming up against systemic gaps in the response that made their recoveries harder to navigate. 

Disasters by nature tend to disrupt even the best-laid plans, particularly as climate change resets the parameters of what we can expect from the next hurricane, wildfire, or heat wave. Experts say there is a need for government officials and utility agencies across the United States to step up their preparations and response to extreme weather events in recognition that they have become more common and are increasingly leaving communities cut off from the water sources they rely on. 

“What we see certainly after wildfires, but [also] man-made incidents and other natural disasters, is that a bunch of different agencies are kind of winging it,” said Andrew Whelton, a professor of civil, environmental, and ecological engineering at Purdue University. 

Murky waters 

The Safe Drinking Water Act sets the stage in the United States for public water standards, but when it comes to disasters, there is a lot left up to interpretation, according to Elin Warn Betanzo, founder and president of the consulting firm Safe Water Engineering. Betanzo said the Environmental Protection Agency has not set a national standard for defining what constitutes a “water emergency” or what sort of public notice that necessitates. There are also no federal regulations for testing water sources for any specific chemicals after a disaster, according to Whelton. 

“The states get to determine what's acceptable for their populations and what's not,” Whelton said. “We keep seeing the same issues where people that are responsible for green-lighting and red-lighting decisions at state levels are unprepared to make those decisions because they don't have the background.”

Whelton’s research and publications on water infrastructure in wildfire-impacted communities in California, Hawai'i, and Colorado have made him a go-to source for water utilities, government officials, and residents who often don’t know where else to turn following disasters. While the EPA does offer suggestions for putting together emergency plans and exercises, Betanzo said the capacity to carry out this work is contingent on how well resourced local governments and water utilities are, which can be quite varied. Depending on where you live, you might be part of a water system serving millions or as few as 25 people, or you might have your own private well system. In each of those cases, there are significantly different options available for responding to a large-scale, disruptive event. 

Different disasters also give rise to different vulnerabilities. Fast-moving events, such as wildfires or storms, might damage the basic infrastructure by melting or breaking the components involved in moving water, including the municipal pipes that carry potable water from treatment plants. These disasters also often cause power outages that depressurize water systems. This makes the system more vulnerable to sucking in outside contaminants, such as debris or fire smoke, which can then mix with water or even leach into the pipes. Contaminated water then flows through the system when it repressurizes, including into homes. 

Longer-term or slower disasters, such as heat or drought conditions, also cause wear and tear, potentially degrading plastic pipes over time or causing cracks that can let contaminants into drinking water. And flooding can cause sewers to back up, creating a distinctly different but still dangerous situation.

Flush AVL used the parking lot of Highland Brewing Company as a staging area for supplies, including these large plastic containers known as totes, which can vary in size but typically hold a few hundred gallons of water. | Photo by Dan Bright

Adding to this already lengthy list of variables are the different types of contaminants that might make it into these systems, depending on which of the above destruction boxes are ticked. The contaminants at play can include bacteria, such as E. coli, and chemicals from common household items that can be toxic if ingested, such as paint, cleaning supplies, and pesticides. In the case of wildfires, smoke and ash might also make their way into water systems. Each contaminant requires a distinct response, from the way utilities treat the issue to how it is communicated to the public. 

Betanzo identified public outreach as an often overlooked but incredibly important part of post-disaster planning after researching the effects of 2017’s Hurricane Maria on Puerto Rico’s water system. This messaging is another area where she said guidelines tend to be vague, making it difficult to know who is supposed to issue warnings and on what timeline. Whelton saw this issue after wildfires as well—following the 2023 Lahaina wildfire, Whelton wrote that all the homeowners he spoke with used potentially contaminated water before they learned their area was under an “unsafe water advisory.” In many cases, Whelton has found that disaster survivors often have to step up and demand testing and transparency after disasters or even make their own contingency plans.

Filling the gaps

After Hurricane Helene, the city of Asheville set up a dedicated water service recovery website where officials continue to share regular updates and post links to press conferences. As in Los Angeles, officials also distributed bottled water. But in the early weeks following the storm, residents in the region quickly realized the lack of electricity and accessible water was creating a public health issue that none of these plans addressed. With no electricity and no running water, people didn’t just need water to drink, bathe, cook, and clean; they needed it to flush their toilets.

“We have a composting toilet,” said Molly Black, one such resident, carefully choosing her words. “But, you know, our neighbors didn't have those capacities.”

Black wasn’t the only resident who realized this was an issue, particularly in areas that were further from water sources. Even those who lived near a body of water, like a river or pond, might not have had the physical ability to haul filled buckets back and forth repeatedly as needed. So she connected with other volunteers in the area and cofounded a grassroots group called Flush AVL. Together, they gathered 410 totes, or large plastic water containers, and set up a request system to identify areas that could use them. The need was significant enough that a second volunteer-run effort, BeLoved Asheville’s “Flush Brigade,” also began coordinating services to address this brewing public health crisis. In some cases, volunteers physically carried buckets of water into homes and apartments to take care of the flushing; in others, they set them up and taught residents how to use them. 

Flush AVL’s first water drop-off was at the Deaverview Apartments the week after Hurricane Helene. During this final visit to the development, water began trickling back on for residents. | Photo by Dan Bright

Dan Bright, a volunteer with Plenty International who worked with Black, said the volunteers ultimately ended up collaborating with local and federal officials who helped with tasks such as filling totes for distribution, recognizing the significant need volunteers were filling. 

“I add that to this story not to detract from the city or the county or anybody else,” Bright clarified. “This was a highly fluid and unknown situation that nobody had plans intact for.”

It ultimately took 53 days for Asheville’s water infrastructure to be fixed, a process that included repairing damaged water lines and flushing out the system to get rid of contaminants that entered through those breaks or due to the loss of pressure. Five weeks out from the fires in Los Angeles, residents are facing a similar waiting game. 

Preventing the next water disaster

Whelton said the good news is that we have the science and know-how now to both identify and address disaster impacts when they occur or even to prevent extreme events from being as disruptive. He recently coauthored a guidance document for public water systems staffers, which included strategies and contributions from communities who have experienced wildfire water issues firsthand.

For example, after the 2018 Camp Fire, the city of Paradise, California, installed backflow prevention devices on their service lines, which are the pipes that connect buildings to the water main line that is directly linked to the water source. Installing these devices ensures water only flows from the source forward through the pipes, preventing the “backflow” of water in the opposite direction—the situation that sucks in contaminants when power outages depressurize water systems. In the wake of the 2021 Marshall Fire, the city of Louisville, Colorado, has moved to install automatic shutoffs for its service lines so that employees will not have to put themselves at physical risk during future fires. Establishing a backup power source is another popular mitigation tactic, as a lack of electricity can be another source of depressurization. 

Betanzo warned that considering ways to disaster-prep water systems is just part of a larger conversation communities need to be having about accountability in the time of climate change. It’s not just making sure there are plans and contingencies but identifying some of the structural questions underpinning these issues, like whether water systems can support continued development in an area. Otherwise, communities are going to continue to find themselves not only facing situations they have not planned for but also potentially facing complications that don’t have an easy fix. 

“If we're not designing for what we know is coming, we're never going to get ahead of this,” she said. “[It’s] just fundamentally making sure that we have standards that are appropriate for the climate we live in and the climate change that we know is coming.”

Reporting for this story was made possible with a fellowship from the nonprofit Institute for Journalism & Natural Resources.