In 2020, the massive Cameron Peak and East Troublesome megafires burned millions of acres in Colorado. The fires also sent sediment and debris into waterways that supply Greeley’s drinking water.
That dirt and debris made it difficult for the area’s two treatment plants to siphon water from rivers and reservoirs, and then treat and deliver it to 150,000 people. It’s a common problem across the West.
“ Our water systems in the West that rely on forested mountain watersheds and snowpack over the winter — they are very vulnerable to wildfire,” said Sean Chambers, Greeley’s director of water utilities…