Impact of Environmental Disasters on Drinking Water Infrastructure

The frequency and intensity of environmental disasters, both natural (e.g. wildfires and hurricanes) and human caused (i.e. chemical spills), is increasing and public drinking water systems operating in impacted communities are at risk. Since 2017, widespread organic compound contamination has been found in at least 20 wildfire impacted water systems. Uncertainty about the source of these contaminants and their fate within water systems has repeatedly hindered community recovery eEorts. A complicating factor during disaster response is the growing prevalence of plastic components within drinking water infrastructure. It is well established that plastics are vulnerable to thermal degradation, however, the impact that this may have on drinking water quality has not previously been studied. Further, many plastics are susceptible to permeation by organic compounds, which could result in the contamination of otherwise undamaged components.

In this talk I will discuss how plastic drinking water infrastructure may act as both a primary and secondary source of contamination during environmental disasters. Specifically, focusing on (i) assessing the type and variability of organic compounds generated during thermal degradation of plastics, (ii) identifying plastic characteristics that influence contaminant generation, sorption, and diEusion, (iii) determining eEicacy of current decontamination strategies, and (iv) evaluating organic contaminant leaching from materials exhumed from wildfire impacted water systems. Secondly, I will go beyond the lab bench and discuss my experiences in responding to various environmental disasters. In this portion of the talk I will focus on the role that academics may have in disaster response and recovery situations, the scientific questions that we uncovered, and the impact that we as scientists and/or engineers can have on public policy and disaster response protocols.

Speaker: Kristofer Isaacson, University of Southern California

Attend in person or online (see weblink)