WEBINAR: Building Capacity for Assessment and Prediction of Post-wildfire Water Availability

May 15, 2024 | 1:00 - 2:00 PM ET

Speakers

Sheila Murphy
Research Hydrologist
U.S. Geological Survey

Sheila Murphy is a Research Hydrologist with the USGS Water Resources Mission Area. Sheila's research focuses on how disturbances (such as wildfire, floods, and land use change) alter watershed response and water quality. In 2023 Sheila received a Superior Service Award from the Department of the Interior for making fundamental advancements in the understanding of water quality impairment following wildfires.

Brian A. Ebel
Research Hydrologist
U.S. Geological Survey

Brian Ebel is a hydrologist who uses field measurements combined with numerical modeling to advance prediction and assessment for water resources through improved process representation. His work focuses on landscape disturbance impacts (e.g., wildfire, forestry, legacy mining) on water availability and water-related hazards to human lives and infrastructure. He was awarded the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) in 2019 for his contributions to understanding post-wildfire flooding and water availability issues. In 2023, Brian was selected as a Kavli Fellow by the National Academy of Sciences. Brian is currently in the Earth System Processes Division of the US Geological Survey Water Resources Mission Area.

Description

Wildfires can have both short- and long-term impacts on water supplies, such as higher constituent concentrations in surface waters, greater treatment costs, and diminished reservoir capacity. Water providers and land managers have a need to effectively plan for and minimize impacts on water supplies. The U.S. Geological Survey is conducting a multi-phase study in the western United States to monitor post-wildfire water quality using discrete storm samples and continuous in-situ measurements. These data provide the foundation to generate new post-fire assessment and prediction approaches. This presentation will describe recent advances in understanding critical drivers of post-fire water quality gleaned from analyses of prior and current data and synthesis of existing concepts.

Learning Objectives

1. Describe typical effects on water quality constituents following wildfire.
2. Define conditions responsible for amplifying post-wildfire water quality responses.
3. List potential water provider adaptation strategies for post-wildfire conditions.

Webinar Recording & PDH Certificate

Included with your webinar registration is access to a recording of the program and a fillable certificate to self-report your Professional Development Hour (PDH)/Continuing Education Credit (CEU). Your certificate will be available to download and a link to the recording of this webinar will be sent within a week of the live program from [email protected]. The recording is exclusively for you, the registrant of the webinar. They are not to be shared or forwarded.