Unique challenges posed by fire disturbance to water supply management and transfer agreements in a headwaters region

Abstract

As a headwaters region, Colorado is a critical source of water for surrounding states and Mexico. But fuel densification and shifts in hydrometeorological processes, such as climate aridification and precipitation sharpening, are causing increasingly severe and erratic wildfire behavior and post-disturbance geomorphic hazards in and downstream of its forested source water areas. Human development patterns and inter and intra-state water rights agreements further complicate resource management. This is prompting land managers to consider progressive planning and management tools to mitigate fire-related degradation of water supply and irrigation systems. This narrative review examines aspects of Colorado's geography, demography, and hydrology that make its water supply systems and transfer agreements particularly vulnerable to landscape disturbance and then provides hazard mitigation recommendations. Readers are introduced to Colorado's water supply portfolio including how water is moved, stored, treated, and consumed; why those systems are vulnerable to wildfire disturbance; and how risk can be reduced before and after fires occur. Lessons learned are applicable to other source water areas facing similar challenges. By synthesizing our review findings, we identified numerous research and programmatic gaps including the need for more interdisciplinary studies; a lack of explicit research into how disturbance-driven hydromodification may hinder the ability of headwater regions to exercise their water rights and fulfill water transfer agreements (crucial for reducing potential future water conflict); an unresolved debate regarding the potential effects of forest treatments on water yield; and the need for additional funding to roll out tools and educational programs to communities experiencing severe wildfire activity for the first time.