DBS&A at the Rocky Mountain Water Conference
DBS&A engineers Chase Stearnes, PE, and Christopher King, EI, are participating in the Rocky Mountain Water Conference, being held August 25-28, 2024 in Keystone, Colorado. The theme of this year’s event is “Changing of the Times!” Mr. Stearnes is delivering a presentation on the impacts of the Hermit’s Peak/Calf Canyon Fire to watersheds and water supply in northern New Mexico. Learn more about DBS&A’s water resources engineering capabilities.
The annual Rocky Mountain Water Conference is jointly sponsored by the Rocky Mountain Section of the American Water Works Association and the Rocky Mountain Water Environment Association. More than 900 attendees are expected including utilities, managers, operators, vendors, engineers, regulators, students, and others. This year’s technical program includes a full-day of Operator Training and expanded topics on management, planning, conservation, and treatment.
Presentation Abstract
Through Fire and Water — Recovering from the Hermit’s Peak/Calf Canyon Fire
The Hermit’s Peak/Calf Canyon Fire burned a record breaking 341,735 acres destroying 160 homes and over 900 structures. The wildfire affected numerous communities in San Miguel and Mora Counties, New Mexico. There are 14 state-recognized public water systems in the vicinity of the fire and all were impacted in varying degrees, the largest of which is the City of Las Vegas.
When a wildfire occurs, the most obvious impacts are loss of trees and burned down homes. However, even after the fires are contained (this one took four months), lasting impacts affect communities for years. One of the most devastating impacts is the transformation of healthy watersheds from once glorious landscapes and ecosystems to bare soil moonscapes that funnel rainwater and debris downstream.
Northern New Mexico communities experienced a range of challenges from widespread flooding of homes and businesses (Town of Mora) to overloading of surface water supplies making treatment impossible (City of Las Vegas). Every community downstream of the burn area was impacted in some capacity.
Following the disaster, President Biden signed into law the Hermit’s Peak/Calf Canyon Fire Assistance Act. The legislation provided $2.5 billion to compensate New Mexicans for injury and loss of property resulting from the Hermit’s Peak/Calf Canyon Fire. DBS&A evaluated the post-fire runoff increases and recommended flood mitigation actions for many property owners and communities that were impacted. This presentation will provide a summary of wildfire timeline, property-level perspective on the impacts of post-fire flooding, give an overview of HEC-HMS modeling completed, and discuss the small-scale improvements recommended to protect property and infrastructure.