Water safety attitudes, risk perception, experiences, and education for households impacted by the 2018 Camp Fire, California

• Published in: Natural hazards (Dordrecht) Vol. 108; no. 1; pp. 947 - 975
• Main Authors: Odimayomi, Tolulope O., Proctor, Caitlin R., Wang, Qi Erica, Sabbaghi, Arman, Peterson, Kimberly S., Yu, David J., Lee, Juneseok, Shah, Amisha D., Ley, Christian J., Noh, Yoorae, Smith, Charlotte D., Webster, Jackson P., Milinkevich, Kristin, Lodewyk, Michael W., Jenks, Julie A., Smith, James F., Whelton, Andrew J.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dordrecht Springer Netherlands 01-08-2021; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Attitudes; Chemical contaminants; Chemical contamination; Chemical pollution; Civil Engineering; Community; Community involvement; Community participation; Contamination; Disaster management; Drinking water; Earth and Environmental Science; Earth Sciences; Education; Environmental Management; Fires; Geophysics/Geodesy; Geotechnical Engineering & Applied Earth Sciences; Health risks; Households; Hydrogeology; Natural disasters; Natural Hazards; Original Paper; Plumbing; Polls & surveys; Psychological stress; Public health; Questions; Risk perception; Safety; Surveying; Surveys; Testing; Water pollution; Water sources; Water treatment; Water use; Wildfires; United States > US; California; Wildfire; Drinking water; Chemical; Health; Infrastructure; Natech; Contamination
• ISSN: 0921-030X; 1573-0840
• DOI: 10.1007/s11069-021-04714-9

The 2018 Camp Fire in Butte County, California, was the state’s most destructive wildfire in history, destroying more than 14,600 homes. The wildfire caused widespread drinking water system chemical contamination resulting in acute and chronic health risks, requiring water use restrictions. Six months after the fire, the research team conducted a rapid community survey of attitudes and experiences that were specific to building water safety. The validated surveys represented 233 households. Amid the disaster response, 54% of the respondents self-reported that at least one member in their household had anxiety, stress, or depression directly related to the water contamination issues. Uncertainty about water and plumbing safety prompted respondents to alter water use in the home (83%), install in-home water treatment technologies (47%), and/or seek alternate water sources (85%). To provide affected households with answers to plumbing testing and safety questions, the research team designed and conducted a community education event. Many community members had technical questions about how to conduct water testing to determine whether their plumbing was safe. The research team identified several significant public health information gaps and a need for clear recommendations. This work illustrates the advantages of community involvement for resolving ambiguities in how households can respond to water safety issues following a natural disaster. Further, the authors posit that strong community engagement in this context can reduce both psychological distress and exposure risks.