Scientists worry that the Dragon Bravo Fire could threaten Grand Canyon National Park’s sole drinking water source at Roaring Springs.
Now they’re working with officials to monitor water quality and predict harmful flows.
Scientists with Northern Arizona University will install sensors and cameras that’ll alert them if water entering aquifers on the North Rim is carrying higher than normal amounts of ash and sediment.
It’s a quality known as turbidity.
Abe Springer is a ecohydrogeology professor at Northern Arizona University.
“Turbidity is an issue because it affects the water quality and standard treatments are to filter the water," Springer says. "[For example], as you know from a river trip, when you’re on a muddy river, its a lot harder to filter and your filters get plugged quicker. So that’s the issue.”
Springer and other researchers will install equipment at springs and many of the more than 6,000 sinkholes across the Kaibab Plateau.
Runoff flows through sinkholes directly into the aquifer more than 3,000 feet below before making its way to Roaring Springs and the rest of the park.
“We really anticipate being able to help the park instrument some sites before the winter closures so we can observe the snow melt season next year," Springer says.
He says if they can provide park officials with early warning of high sediment flows, the park can pause pumping water when turbidity is highest, preserving their water infrastructure.
