Ben Livneh News

Winter never came to Colorado. What does it mean for water supplies?

sugl6437 — Tue, 31 Mar 2026 16:54:10 +0000

Winter never came to Colorado. What does it mean for water supplies? sugl6437 Tue, 03/31/2026 - 10:54

Associate Professor Ben Livneh, who’s also the director of the Western Water Assessment (WWA) at the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES), shares insights on what this “snow drought” means for water availability, how it compares to past trends and what may lie ahead as Colorado approaches peak snowpack season.

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Wildfires threaten water quality for years after they burn

Susan Glairon — Mon, 23 Jun 2025 15:27:45 +0000

Wildfires threaten water quality for years after they burn Susan Glairon Mon, 06/23/2025 - 09:27

Associate Professor Ben Livneh

Years after wildfires burn forests and watersheds, the contaminants left behind continue to poison rivers and streams across the Western U.S. — much longer than scientists estimated.

A new study led by CIRES researchers, published today in Nature Communications Earth & Environment, analyzed water quality in more than 500 watersheds across the Western U.S., and is the first large-scale assessment of post-wildfire water quality.

Ben Livneh, an associate professor of civil, environmental and architectural engineering, CIRES fellow and Western Water Assessment director, was the principal investigator and co-author of the study.

Read The Conversation article Read the CIRES article

A new study published today in Nature Communications Earth & Environment is the first large-scale assessment of post-wildfire water quality. Ben Livneh, an associate professor of civil, environmental and architectural engineering, was the principal investigator and co-author of the study.

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Satellites reveal widespread decline in global lake water storage

Anonymous — Thu, 18 May 2023 18:52:25 +0000

Satellites reveal widespread decline in global lake water storage Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 05/18/2023 - 12:52

More than 50 percent of the largest lakes in the world are losing water, according to a groundbreaking new assessment published today in Science. The article was coauthored by Professor Balaji Rajagopalan and Associate Professor Ben Livneh, both from ��ñ��'s Department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering. Fangfang Yao, a CIRES visiting scholar, was the lead author.

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Ben Livneh joins CASE Fellows program

Anonymous — Thu, 15 Dec 2022 16:25:51 +0000

Ben Livneh joins CASE Fellows program Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 12/15/2022 - 09:25

Associate Professor Ben Livneh

Ben Livneh, associate professor of civil, environmental and architectural engineering, has joined the Colorado Art Science Environment (CASE) Fellows program. The program is the latest incarnation of the Office for Outreach and Engagement's work to connect the arts, sciences and community for shared action on Colorado’s interrelated social and environmental issues.

CASE Fellows are artists from all corners of Colorado and ��ñ�� scientists who will work in teams to produce artworks that will be exhibited at the Colorado State Capitol as part of the Colorado Creative Industries Creative Capital program, May-September 2023. The exhibition, tentatively titled "Coloradans and Our Shared Environment in Times of Challenge and Change," will tell the story of how Coloradans are experiencing interrelated challenges of fire, drought, and water and air quality in their communities. The CASE Fellows aim to build a sense of connection around Colorado environmental issues by co-ideating artwork with input from communities.

More information

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Ben Livneh Receives AGU Hydrologic Sciences Early Career Award

Anonymous — Thu, 08 Sep 2022 19:41:45 +0000

Ben Livneh Receives AGU Hydrologic Sciences Early Career Award Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 09/08/2022 - 13:41

CIRES Fellow and WWA Director Ben Livneh was announced as American Geophysical Union’s (AGU) 2022 Hydrologic Sciences Early Career Award recipient. Being selected as a Section Honoree is bestowed upon individuals for meritorious work or service toward the advancement and promotion of discovery and solution science. AGU, a nonprofit organization that supports 130,000 enthusiasts to experts worldwide in Earth and space sciences, annually recognizes a select number of individuals as part of its Honors and Recognition program.

Livneh is recognized by the global Earth and space sciences community for his tremendous personal sacrifices and selfless dedication to advancing Earth and space sciences.  Livneh's nominator, CIRES Fellow and ��ñ�� Professor Balaji Rajagopalan, described Livneh's research as fundamental to advancing our understanding of hydrologic processes and drought. Rajagopalan also highlighted Livneh's remarkable productivity, his passion for teaching and mentoring students and his humility.

AGU will formally recognize this year’s recipients during #AGU22 Fall Meeting, 12-16 December 2022 in Chicago, IL and online everywhere. This celebration is a chance for AGU’s community to recognize the outstanding work of our colleagues and be inspired by their accomplishments and stories. 

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Livneh interviewed by 9News on flash flooding in areas hit by wildfires

Anonymous — Tue, 19 Jul 2022 15:43:20 +0000

Livneh interviewed by 9News on flash flooding in areas hit by wildfires Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 07/19/2022 - 09:43

Ben Livneh was interviewed by Denver 9News for a piece focusing flash flooding over the Cameron Peak Fire burn scar.

The floods caused serious damage in the Glen Haven, Crystal Mountain and Buckhorn areas of Larimer County.

Livneh is an associate professor in the Department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering at the ��ñ��. He is an expert in the impacts of changing land cover and climate on water resources.

In the piece, he discusses the increased risk of flooding in communities for years following wildfire damage.

Watch the story at 9News...

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After a Wildfire, What Happens to Water?

Anonymous — Mon, 11 Jul 2022 22:00:53 +0000

After a Wildfire, What Happens to Water? Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 07/11/2022 - 16:00

When Western wildfires break out, water may first come to mind as a critical resource for helping extinguish it. But what about after the flames finish?

A 2022 CU study on the growing impact of wildfire on the Western U.S. water supply found that large forest fires can significantly increase the amount of water in surrounding streams and rivers up to six years after a fire, impacting regional water supplies and increasing risks for floods and landslides. The results suggest that water and natural hazard management will need to be more prepared for wildfire impacts. U.S. wildfires — which have quadrupled in size and tripled in frequency since 2000 — are only projected to escalate.

“It is something organizations need to educate fire-prone communities about, so we can be prepared for short- and long-term impacts.”

“We’re likely going to see a lot more fires,” said Ben Livneh, co-author of the study and assistant professor of civil, environmental and architectural engineering. “Like we saw with [Boulder County’s] NCAR and Marshall fires, this is going to be a clear and present danger.”

Historically, forest-based streams and rivers increased in predictable amounts in response to rain or snowfall. However, from 1970 to 2021, those amounts declined due to warming and evaporation.

Wildfire adds another layer to the equation.

“When you bring so much fire into the mix, it fundamentally alters that relationship,” said Livneh, who also serves as director of the Western Water Assessment and is a fellow in the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES).

The study examined 35 years of data from 179 forest basins in the Western U.S. between 1984 and 2019, including 72 sites where at least one large wildfire occurred. In areas where 20% or more of the forest burned, area streamflow was 30% greater than expected, for an average of six years post-fire.

It’s the first paper to show this increase persists in all four seasons after a fire, in all manner of vegetation, topography and elevation.

This water surplus could in part be a good thing, given the overall decline in the past 40 years. But it also comes with elevated landslide risks and a need for Western communities to invest in a greater diversity of water sources, as ash-laden water is low quality and expensive to treat, according to Livneh.

Due to the uncertainty of where or when future forests will burn, wildfire is not currently factored into assessments of the effects of climate change on Western U.S. streamflow.

“It is something organizations need to educate fire-prone communities about, so we can be prepared for short- and long-term impacts,” said Livneh.

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9News features Livneh in Climate Change Town Hall

Anonymous — Mon, 15 Nov 2021 16:28:13 +0000

9News features Livneh in Climate Change Town Hall Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 11/15/2021 - 09:28

9NEWS explored climate change solutions with Colorado experts at a town hall on Wednesday.

The town hall included topics like weather, water, wildfires and what we can do to protect our planet.

The panelists were:

Becky Bolinger, assistant state climatologist for the Colorado Climate Center,
Ben Livneh, director of Western Water Assessment, and
Ean Tafoya, Colorado field advocate for GreenLatinos.

All this month, 9NEWS is talking about climate change and how it affects everything we do: from wildfires to energy to our food supply to drought.

Because of warming and drought, reservoirs on the Colorado River like Lake Powell are at their lowest level in years. Millions of people in Western states rely on the Colorado River for their water.

We're also talking about wildfires and what Colorado's forests will look like for years to come after last year's fires.

Researchers are studying the trends of warmer, drier weather in the state and the impact they could have on forest recovery.

Researchers say finding alternative energy sources is one solution to lower temperatures and control wildfire, but it could be years before we see the impact of those changes.

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Livneh featured in PBS NewsHour Documentary on the Colorado River

Anonymous — Thu, 11 Nov 2021 17:47:13 +0000

Livneh featured in PBS NewsHour Documentary on the Colorado River Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 11/11/2021 - 10:47

The Colorado River runs nearly fifteen hundred miles, winding through seven states and Mexico. It supplies drinking water to nearly 40 million people, irrigates nearly 4 million acres of farmland and attracts millions of nature lovers to scenic Grand Canyon vistas.

And it is on the brink.

A 20 year mega-drought — exacerbated by climate change — is squeezing the Colorado dry. It’s a crisis for the people of the Southwest and a “canary in the coal mine” for us all.

Join PBS NewsHour’s Miles O’Brien for a special hour-long live event exploring the relationship between climate change and the fate of the Colorado River Basin.

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Livneh quoted in Kaiser Health News wildfire story

Anonymous — Tue, 28 Sep 2021 19:39:09 +0000

Livneh quoted in Kaiser Health News wildfire story Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 09/28/2021 - 13:39

The ‘Burn Scars’ of Wildfires Threaten the West’s Drinking Water

Colorado saw its worst fire season last year, with the three largest fires in state history and more than 600,000 acres burned. But some of the effects didn’t appear until this July, when heavy rain pushed sediment from damaged forests down mountainsides, causing mudslides that shut down sections of Interstate 70 for almost two weeks.

Immense quantities of sediment choked the rivers that supply most of the state’s water. In western Colorado’s Glenwood Springs, the water became so murky that the town twice had to shut off the valves that pump water from nearby rivers to avoid overwhelming its filtration system. City managers sent alerts to the town’s 10,000 residents, telling them to minimize water use until the sediment moved downstream.

Wildfires and their lasting effects are becoming a way of life in the West as climate change and management practices cause fires to increase in number, intensity and acreage burned, while extending the length of the fire season. In “burn scars,” where fires decimated forest systems that held soil in place, an increase in droughts followed by heavy rainfall poses a different kind of threat to the water supplies that are essential to the health of communities.

“You know about it; it’s in the back of your head,” said Glenwood Springs resident Paula Stepp. “But until you face it, you don’t know how it’s going to impact your town.”

Dirty, turbid water can contain viruses, parasites, bacteria and other contaminants that cause illness. But experts say turbid water from burn scars is unlikely to make it to people’s taps, because water utilities would catch it first.

Still, the cost to municipal utility systems — and the residents who pay for water — is immense. Rural small towns in particular face the choice between spending millions of dollars to try to filter turbid water or shutting off their intake and risking shortages in areas where water may already be scarce.

And as fires move closer to communities, burning synthetic materials from houses and other buildings can create toxic compounds that leach into water supplies, which is what happened in California after major fires in 2017 and 2018.

“When we put [fires] out, we become less aware of them,” said hydrologist Kevin Bladon, of Oregon State University. But from a water perspective, “that’s when all the problems start.”

Montana’s capital city, Helena, gets its drinking water supply from the Upper Tenmile Creek watershed in a forest thick with trees killed by beetle infestations. City leaders worry a fire would quickly chew through that dry fuel and leave the watershed exposed to sediment contamination. Despite a logging project that cleared many of those trees two years ago, the fire threat remains and city leaders worry the resulting sediment would overwhelm the water treatment plant and shut down the primary water source for 40,000 people.

“If we had a fire up there, depending on where it is and how big it is, it could put the Tenmile plant out for a season or two,” Helena Public Works Director Ryan Leland said.

To protect against that happening, the city is in the early phases of designing a basin that can trap sediment before the water reaches the plant, Leland said. The city also recently announced plans to drill three groundwater test wells, which would give them another drinking water supply option if something happens to the Upper Tenmile watershed. Treated water from the Missouri River is the city’s current backup supply.

The Rocky Mountains and about 200 miles separate Glenwood Springs from Greeley, in northeastern Colorado. But the 2020 fire season caused similar problems in both cities, creating burn scars that later flooded, contaminating water sources.

So far this year, Greeley has had to shut off its intake from the Cache la Poudre River for 39 days because the water was contaminated with sediment, ash and organic matter. “Normally we would never turn it off,” said Greeley water and sewer director Sean Chambers.

To cope, the city has been trading water with a nearby agricultural company that owns reservoirs used for irrigation. The swap gives the turbid water to farmers and redirects the reservoir water to Greeley. “If we didn’t have the trade in place, the cost [of buying water] would be astronomical,” Chambers said.

But Chambers admitted this system is a luxury that smaller towns may not enjoy. Greeley is 10 times the size of Glenwood Springs and has spent more than $40 million this year recovering from the Cameron Peak Fire — the largest fire in Colorado history, which burned for four months in 2020. Those costs may climb as rain continues, he said. Larger towns also tend to have better filtration systems that can handle more sediment, which clogs up filters and requires utilities to add chemicals to remove contaminants before the water is safe to drink.

While dry states like Colorado expect fires each year, recent blazes in wetter places like western Oregon have caught researchers off guard. Last September, fires scorched about 11% of the state’s Cascade mountain range, leaving burn scars above rivers and reservoirs that supply much of the state’s water.

“We have to be very proactive,” said Pete Robichaud, a research engineer with the U.S. Forest Service in Moscow, Idaho.

After a wildfire is extinguished, Robichaud’s agency and others send teams of specialists to evaluate the risks that erosion and ash pose to water supplies. Their data can help land managers decide whether to take actions like thinning forests above rivers, dredging contaminated reservoirs, covering the area with mulch or seeds to reduce erosion, or forming a plan for alternative water sources.

Even advance notice of a flood could help immensely, said Stepp, the Glenwood Springs resident. She is the executive director of the nonprofit Middle Colorado Watershed Council, which recently worked with the U.S. Geological Survey to install rain gauges along Glenwood Canyon. These monitor weather upstream and notify downstream water users that a sediment-laden flood could be coming.

She said it is crucial for small communities in particular to partner with state and federal agencies. “Basically, we work with everybody,” she said.

Although debris flows can bring soil bacteria into water supplies, city utilities can disinfect them with chemicals like chlorine, said Ben Livneh, a hydrologist at the University of Colorado-Boulder. But those disinfectants can themselves cause a problem: Organic matter from sediment can interact with these chemicals and create carcinogenic byproducts that are difficult and expensive to remove.

Another waterborne danger comes from chemical byproducts and heavy metals from burned structures. “Those would be potentially really problematic to treat,” Livneh said.

After the 2017 Tubbs and 2018 Camp fires that devastated the Northern California communities of Santa Rosa and Paradise, researchers examining the tap water of nearby homes found benzene and other carcinogens. Public health researcher Gina Solomon at the Public Health Institute in Oakland, California, said the contamination likely came from plastic pipes that melted and leached chemicals into the water.

Smoke and ash from burned structures may also add toxic chemicals to water supplies. “The smoke from the fires is a truly nasty brew,” Solomon said.

California has been relatively lucky when it comes to sediment flow. The years-long drought in most of the state means burn scars remain intact — though a heavy rain could wash down years of debris.

It’s unclear how long burn scars continue to pose a landslide risk, said Bladon, the Oregon hydrologist. But parts of Alberta in the Canadian Rockies, for instance, continued to see extremely turbid water for a decade after a 2003 fire.

“My fear is we may not have seen the worst of it yet,” Solomon said.

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