Impact of Wildfires on Treatment Plant Operations and Design (Hazen and Sawyer)

The environmental consultancy firm Hazen and Sawyer published a report discussing the impacts of wildfires on water treatment plant operations. In particular, it observes that poor influent water quality after a wildfire can cause cascading effects throughout a conventional treatment train, outlining the effects on processes like coagulation, flocculation, sedimentation, and filtration. It also presents concepts and recommendations to help utilities in wildfire hazard areas prepare for the future, adding that these can be applied by any utility experiencing an extreme weather event that increases source water turbidity, natural organic matter (NOM), or nutrient loadings.

The report is available as the first piece in Hazen and Sawyer’s Horizons magazine for Winter 2020 (posted as a PDF below), as well as via this website:

https://www.hazenandsawyer.com/publications/impact-of-wildfires-on-treatment-plant-operations-and-design/