Amid the fires, LA is warning some residents the tap water isn’t safe. Here’s why:
The warning is stark: “Do not drink or cook with the tap water … Do not treat the tap water yourself,” typed in all caps and boldface. The alert, issued January 10 by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, also advises people not to take hot baths or long showers. It’s directed at residents of the Pacific Palisades and other neighborhoods near the Palisades Fire.
It’s the latest in a series of water advisories issued this week in places affected by the unprecedented Southern California wildfires, which are still burning. Wildfires like these can compromise drinking water, says Andrew Whelton, a professor of civil engineering at Purdue University who has studied other recent wildfires.
“They will find contamination. The question is how high is it? Where is it? What parts of the communities will have to have restrictions?”
During wildfires drinking water can get contaminated in two ways: via the water source and the system that delivers it.
