By Kaitlin Sullivan
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As more people build homes in fire-prone areas, and as climate change and other factors increase the frequency of fires, there is a growing risk to life and property throughout the West — and a lesser known risk to the region's already endangered water supply. At least 65 percent of the public water supply in the Western U.S. comes from fire-prone areas.
Blazes like the Tubb Fire and 2018's massive Camp and Carr wildfires can expose the drinking water for millions of people to the risk of contamination by toxic chemicals and parasites. Experts are concerned the new scale of wildfires torching urban areas could cause damage to public water supply that isn't immediately apparent.
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The concern is prompting more intensive water testing programs following wildfires and spurring utility companies to invest in wildfire mitigation projects across the West.
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Awareness of the risk is increasing. In the more than 244-square-mile burn area left by November's Camp Fire, officials have launched a months-long water monitoring program and will sample surface water at least seven times through spring 2019.
Samples in the Camp Fire burn area will be tested for levels of pollutants including mercury, chemicals found in the fire retardant dropped from the air, and PCBs which are commonly found in electronics.
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Just days before the Camp Fire began, Blue Forest Conservation, an investment group focused on forest and watershed health, partnered with the Yuba Water Agency, a utility company that services parts of Southern California, to fund wildfire mitigation in one of its watersheds.
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