Climate change and drinking water: exploring resilience to wildfire in the BC Southern Interior

The increasing frequency and severity of wildfires threaten the safety and sustainability of community drinking water systems. There is a need to strengthen regulations and health protection programs to increase the resilience of drinking water systems and ensure access to clean, safe, and reliable drinking water in areas prone to wildfires. But what aspects of drinking water supply system infrastructure and operations are most important for resilience? A literature review was conducted on drinking water system resilience to wildfire. Themes identified were then shared in interviews with key informants from the BC Southern Interior to gain further insight into the most important elements for water systems impacted by wildfires. Those interviewed, and in particular those from First Nations communities, highlighted gaps in the current recommendations regarding the importance of proactive watershed management and protection for community water systems resilience. This paper identifies tangible changes in infrastructure and operations that drinking water suppliers can implement to reduce vulnerability to wildfire impacts. Water suppliers and regulators should commit to implementing these improvements and increase community water system resilience. Disclosure This work was supported by a Pacific Institute for Climate Solutions intern grant (#36170-50280) with in-kind support provided from Interior Health and the BC First Nations Health Authority.