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Watersheds as Natural Infrastructure: New Urban Water Report Analyzes Benefits
Author(s) -
Shemie Daniel
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
journal ‐ american water works association
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.466
H-Index - 74
eISSN - 1551-8833
pISSN - 0003-150X
DOI - 10.5942/jawwa.2015.107.0031
Subject(s) - watershed , water supply , geography , environmental protection , environmental science , archaeology , environmental engineering , machine learning , computer science
More than a decade ago, residents of New Mexico witnessed the devastation caused by the Cerro Grande fire. Perilous fuel loads from decades of fire suppression caused burning to last for two weeks, leaving in its wake a wasteland of destroyed homes, dead trees, and ash. One year after the fire, reservoir sediment accumulation was 140 times higher than the previous 57 years combined. Levels remained significantly elevated for five years, and costs to clean up damage to the water supply ran $17 million. Water managers in the city of Santa Fe, N.M., took heed and invested, alongside the United States Forest Service, in a forest fuel‐reduction strategy to protect its own watershed. This program helped the city avoid an estimated $22 million in potential damage.