Experts told NBC News that residents in the Los Angeles area who currently have tap water warnings may be without it for a while due to worries about the toxins produced by wildfires and the harm done to local infrastructure.
Due to worries about possible contamination from the continuing wildfires, at least two water authorities have advised locals not to consume their tap water. It may take some time for testing to assess the extent of the issue, especially while the fires are still burning, but the potential for chemicals and pathogens to reach the water system has sparked worries about possible health dangers to people.
The Pacific Palisades and surrounding areas were told by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power on Friday to use bottled water for drinking, cooking, brushing their teeth, and dishwashing. According to the advice, the water supply may have been contaminated by fire-related pollutants like benzene, a chemical that can cause cancer.
Citing worries that debris might have gotten into the system, the Pasadena Water and Power Department also advised several households last week to switch to bottled water until further notice. According to the department, the Eaton Fire in the region damaged a number of pump stations and reservoirs, which may have an impact on the quality of the local water.
These compromised systems are undoubtedly contaminated to some degree. Jackson Webster, an assistant professor of civil engineering at California State University in Chico, stated that no one is aware of how much.
He said that it should be presumed that they are severely contaminated based on prior observations until the exact level of contamination in the system is established. They are issuing these no-drink notifications again for that reason.
Webster cited the 2017 Tubbs Fire in Santa Rosa, California, the 2018 Camp Fire in Paradise, California, and the 2023 flames in Maui, Hawaii, as examples of how wildfires frequently cause drinking water contamination in urban areas.
According to him, a water system losing pressure is one obvious indication that drinking water has been tainted. Water pressure drops and impurities are drawn in like a vacuum when the system is overworked, usually by residents using sprinklers and hoses as firefighters draw water from hydrants.
Following four times the system’s typical demand, the water department in Los Angeles announced last week that water pressure in Pacific Palisades had decreased.
According to Fernando Rosario-Ortiz, an environmental engineering professor at the University of Colorado Boulder, the pressure drop is alarming and ought to prompt a thorough examination of the water.
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at order to decide when the water is safe to drink, the Pasadena water department announced on Sunday that it has started testing at strategic locations.
Given that the crimson fire retardant is mostly made up of fertilizer and water, environmental engineers aren’t overly worried that it may end up in people’s taps. But according to a study conducted last year, heavy metals are present in that kind of retardant.
According to Young, you wouldn’t necessarily be concerned about it from the perspective of human health, even though you might be disturbing the environment.
The ash from domestic products is a greater worry. More than 12,300 buildings have been destroyed by the fires in the Los Angeles area. Rubber tires, furniture, and carpeting were among the goods that burnt along with the properties. On people’s properties, fires can also melt water meters or plastic pipes.
These procedures emit gaseous substances called volatile organic compounds, which can seep into the water system and are frequently difficult to remove. Short-term effects of chemical exposure may include nausea, dyspnea, or ocular discomfort. Over time, exposure has been linked to birth abnormalities, cognitive impairment, and some types of cancer.
Because they are recognized carcinogens, two chemicals in particular—vinyl chloride and benzene—pose some of the worst health dangers.
Since boiling water doesn’t kill them, the Los Angeles water department removed a previous boil water advice that was meant to shield locals against parasites, viruses, and germs.
It’s standard practice to test water for the most dangerous compounds, such as benzene, first, and then use that as a general indicator of whether drinking water is safe to drink, according to Thomas Young, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at the University of California, Davis.
We concentrate on the chemical of the greatest health concern while designing remediation for such substances. Since they are far less powerful, we believe that after we have taken care of that, the other ones will usually appear and be alright, he said.
Depending on the level of contamination, the testing procedure may take weeks, months, or longer. Testing of people’s houses in Paradise revealed continued contamination long after the Camp Fire subsided, according to Catherine Carpenter, a research data analyst at Tracking California, a program that gathers and analyzes data on water quality.
We were still detecting high levels of benzene in the tap water nearly a year later, she said.
According to Purdue University environmental and ecological engineering professor Andrew Whelton, the risk can be eliminated by cleaning out water lines if pollution levels are low. However, he added, significant pollution levels might need completely replacing the pipes.
Although it’s too soon to tell, Whelton stated that it’s likely that water sources in communities where houses did not burn down are still contaminated.
According to him, the areas surrounding damaged structures are more likely to have contaminated water distribution systems. However, firefighters may occasionally suck tainted water and spread it throughout the system when battling a fire.