The paper – “A Regional-Scale Index for Assessing the Exposure of Drinking-Water Sources to Wildfires” – presents a spatial index of watershed exposure to wildfires in the province of Alberta, Canada, where growing water demands coupled with increasing fire activity threaten municipal drinking water supplies. Using a multi-criteria analysis design, the researchers integrated information on provincial forest cover, fire danger, source water volume, source water origin (i.e., forested/un-forested), and population served to develop the index which can help regional authorities prioritize the allocation of limited risk management resources to mitigate the adverse drinking-water impacts from wildfire.

The article is available for download here.

More information on the implications of natural disturbances for drinking water treatability can be explored at www.forwater.ca

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