NASA: Helping Communities Protect Drinking Water

Released Monday, September 15, 2025

ID: 60002

- Produced by:
- James Round
- Scientific consulting by:
- Erin Urquhart

Full 8K resolution. Optimized for Earth Information Center display.

Music Credit: "Journey to Glory" by Anthony Giordano, Publishers: Illustration Musicale, Universal Production Music France; "Epic Quest Overture" by Anthony Giordano, Publishers: Illustration Musicale, Universal Production Music France; "Heroic Valor" by Anthony Giordano, Publishers: Illustration Musicale, Universal Production Music France.

This video can be freely shared and downloaded. While the video in its entirety can be shared without permission, some individual imagery provided by Adam Spencer (Eugene Water Electric Board) is obtained through permission and may not be excised or remixed in other products. For more information on NASA’s media guidelines, visit https://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/guidelines/index.html

Complete transcript available.

Watch this video on the NASA Scientific Visualization Studio YouTube channel.

NASA is helping communities safeguard one of their most essential resources: clean water. When wildfires burn through forests, excessive sediment and potential contaminants can enter local waterways and overwhelm downstream treatment plants. NASA satellites provide critical data to track post-fire impacts on watersheds by mapping vulnerable areas for faster response.

By combining satellite observations with local expertise, NASA-supported tools empower natural resource managers and utilities to better protect drinking water, allocate resources, and reduce damage to infrastructure.

To learn more about NASA’s Earth Information Center and how NASA supports water and wildfire response, visit: https://earth.gov/