Over 56,000 wildfires were reported in 2023 according to the Department of Interior’s National Interagency Fire Center. Many of these fires have destroyed countless acres of land as well as any structure on them. In August 2023, a wildfire in Maui, Hawai’i impacted over 2,000 structures and is considered the deadliest United States wildfire in at least the past 100 years. Contamination of drinking water systems and premise plumbing from wildfires is an emergency concern, especially in the Western United States. Much about wildfire-associated contamination from benzene and other hazardous materials is not well understood. Knowledge gaps complicate response and recovery actions and efforts to build water systems resilience against future wildfires.

This presentation will discuss EPA’s emergency response efforts to the Maui wildfires and ongoing research to further understand contamination of water infrastructure. Research topics include uptake and release of contaminants in hot and cold pipes commonly used in premise plumbing and the effects of hot gasses and smoke on drinking water pipes.