The effects of the High Park fire on Cache la Poudre drinking water quality

The High Park fire burned 87,284 acres in the Cache la Poudre River watershed from June 9th to June 30th, 2012. The effects of the fire not only impacted the vegetation and soil within the watershed, but also induced changes in the water quality of the Poudre River, a local drinking water source. The utilities and food and beverage producers were concerned that the fire might impart a smoky flavor and other taste and odor issues to the water that may negatively impact their products. Sensory tests were performed on a variety of Poudre River water samples using Flavor Profile Analysis (FPA) according to Standard Method 2170. Results showed that there was not a smoky flavor in Poudre River water several months after the fire compared to smoky flavor just after the fire. In testing samples with a standard smoky compound, guaiacol, FPA results indicated that neither the conventional treatment nor the powdered activated carbon (PAC) treatments removed the smoky smell. However, the benchscale tests conducted with charred riverbed sediment indicated that the smoky flavor is removed by conventional and powdered activated treatments. In the second part of this study, nutrients, organics, and metals were shown to leach into the river water in a laboratory setting. The potential of these parameters to increase in the Cache la Poudre River may cause algal blooms and result in increases in taste and odor issues, as well as metallic tastes caused by the leaching of metals such as iron and manganese. So although the High Park fire did not impart a smoky flavor to the Poudre River water, there remains a potential for taste and odor issues in the future.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Science (M.S.)

Level thesis:degree_level

Masters

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Civil and Environmental Engineering

Grantor dc:publisher

Colorado State University. Libraries

Year dc:date.issued

2013

Authors dc:creator

• Steninger, Clare L., author
• Omur-Ozbek, Pinar, advisor
• Carlson, Ken, committee member
• Dooley, Gregory, committee member
• Stednick, John, committee member

• flavor profile analysis
• forest fires
• sediment leaching
• water quality

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright and other restrictions may apply. User is responsible for compliance with all applicable laws. For information about copyright law, please see https://libguides.colostate.edu/copyright.

Language dc:language.iso

eng, English

Identifier URI

https://doi.org/10.25675/3.018613

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:mountainscholar.org:10217/79168