This project assesses wildfire risks in watersheds with inter-basin water transfers in the Intermountain West. Through geospatial analyses and case studies, it examines how wildfire hazards affect these transfers, exploring correlations with land management and quantifying water volumes at risk.
Objectives:
- Build a geospatial dataset of sub-basin areas that have the potential to contribute flow to IBTs. Also map sub-basins in receiving watersheds that are upstream of critical water transfer infrastructure such as receiving reservoirs. The initial region of interest will be Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico, and will expand as the analysis techniques are vetted and validated.
- Evaluate the burn probability and maximum probable fire severity in these contributing sub-basins.
- Assemble mean annual transferred flow data, burn probability, elevation, slope, forest cover, and land ownership data for all mapped diversion projects.
- Clearly quantify the annual volume of water falling into each class of fire risk transferred by transbasin diversions.
- Explore the dataset for additional correlations and potential predictors of transfer disruption.
- Conduct a deep-dive analysis of selected major diversions, to elucidate how land ownership and infrastructure management and governance interact with wildfire risk in specific case studies
Charter Summary:
This project aims to assess fire risks in watersheds with inter-basin water transfers in the Intermountain West. By conducting geospatial analyses and deep-dives into specific diversion infrastructure like the Grand Ditch and San Juan-Chama project, it addresses key research questions. These include variations in wildfire risk across principal diversions, disproportionate impacts on transferring or receiving basins, correlation with land management, and the volume of transferred water at high wildfire risk. Interbasin water transfers are vital for supplying populated areas, but their susceptibility to wildfires poses significant challenges, impacting water resources crucial for both urban and rural areas.
Primary Contacts
- Daniel Cadol (NMT)
- Richard Rushforth (NAU)
- Ryan Morrison (CSU)
Students
- Abelino Fernandez-Leger (NMT)
- Eric Sjöstedt (NAU)