I started reading about water contamination after wildfires. The common plastic pipe and fittings all give off nasty VOCs when heated high enough (about 200 degrees C which is close to 400 degrees F). I woulda thought that at those temperatures the pipes would just burst, the water would flow out, and the pipe would be replaced before use. Fair enough but what seems to be happening in these widespread fires is that water pressure is lost and smoke and fumes are sucked into the distribution systems. The water mains seem not to be contaminated as much but the smaller distribution lines do get contaminated. When that happens even piping materials that didn't get overheated can absorb the contaminants and leach them out later. I suppose even the mains would get contaminated if the water got sucked back far enough. The article I read said that it was plastic pipe and fittings that would absorb the secondary contamination. Maybe the mains are more likely to be metal, maybe they have a smaller surface area to volume ratio, or maybe the contaminated water rarely reaches them.
It was an eye opener to read of contaminated water from one building getting drawn into the system and causing problems for the rest of the system although perhaps it should not be so unexpected. Failures in backflow prevention and subsequent contamination of systems from other more traditional sources of contamination have long been the bane of public health. Also the article said that these chemicals (some from overheated plastic pipes and some from smoke) may have been contaminating water after fires for decades. We just didn't test for them until recently.
I started reading about water contamination after wildfires. The common plastic pipe fittings all give off nasty VOCs when heated high enough (about 200 degrees C which is close to 400 degrees F). I woulda though that at those temperatures the pipes would just burst, the water would flow out, and the pipe would be replaced before use. Fair enough but what seems to be happening in these widespread fires is that water pressure is lost and smoke and fumes are sucked into the distribution systems. The water mains seem not to be contaminated as much but the smaller distribution lines do get contaminated. When that happens even piping materials that didn't get overheated can absorb the contaminants and leach them out later. I suppose even the mains would get contaminated if the water got sucked back far enough. The article I read said that it was plastic pipe and fittings that would absorb the secondary contamination. Maybe the mains are more likely to be metal, maybe they have a smaller surface area to volume ratio, or maybe the contaminated water rarely reaches them.
It was an eye opener to read of contaminated water from one building getting drawn into the system and causing problems for the rest of the system although perhaps it should not be so unexpected. Failures in backflow prevention and subsequent contamination of systems from other more traditional sources of contamination have long been the bane of public health. Also the article said that these chemicals (some from overheated plastic pipes and some from smoke) may have been contaminating water after fires for decades. We just didn't test for them until recently.
Weird double post as I tried to edit...
The subdivision near Naalehu and probably others have water piping running exposed for hundreds of feet along the ground beside the roads. I shudder to think of all the problems they would have from even a modest brush fire.
It was an eye opener to read of contaminated water from one building getting drawn into the system and causing problems for the rest of the system although perhaps it should not be so unexpected. Failures in backflow prevention and subsequent contamination of systems from other more traditional sources of contamination have long been the bane of public health. Also the article said that these chemicals (some from overheated plastic pipes and some from smoke) may have been contaminating water after fires for decades. We just didn't test for them until recently.
I started reading about water contamination after wildfires. The common plastic pipe fittings all give off nasty VOCs when heated high enough (about 200 degrees C which is close to 400 degrees F). I woulda though that at those temperatures the pipes would just burst, the water would flow out, and the pipe would be replaced before use. Fair enough but what seems to be happening in these widespread fires is that water pressure is lost and smoke and fumes are sucked into the distribution systems. The water mains seem not to be contaminated as much but the smaller distribution lines do get contaminated. When that happens even piping materials that didn't get overheated can absorb the contaminants and leach them out later. I suppose even the mains would get contaminated if the water got sucked back far enough. The article I read said that it was plastic pipe and fittings that would absorb the secondary contamination. Maybe the mains are more likely to be metal, maybe they have a smaller surface area to volume ratio, or maybe the contaminated water rarely reaches them.
It was an eye opener to read of contaminated water from one building getting drawn into the system and causing problems for the rest of the system although perhaps it should not be so unexpected. Failures in backflow prevention and subsequent contamination of systems from other more traditional sources of contamination have long been the bane of public health. Also the article said that these chemicals (some from overheated plastic pipes and some from smoke) may have been contaminating water after fires for decades. We just didn't test for them until recently.
Weird double post as I tried to edit...
The subdivision near Naalehu and probably others have water piping running exposed for hundreds of feet along the ground beside the roads. I shudder to think of all the problems they would have from even a modest brush fire.