Volcanic ash has contaminated Tonga's water sources, cutting off supplies for thousands of residents. But even in the US, emergency response teams aren’t equipped to investigate all the water-quality issues that emerge after environmental crises
Fatafehi Fakafānua, many of the country’s 100,000-plus residents still have no access to water after ash contaminated its drinking supplies., relief organizations have set up 16 water stations around the island to meet that need. But the process of digging out wells and rooftop tanks has been slow-going, in part because to avoid introducing COVID to the largely disease-free islands, relief teams have remained in quarantine.is, clearly, different from climate-related storms, fires, and floods.
Tonga gets its water from two sources. Rural areas generally rely on rainwater gathered from rooftops, while urban areas tap a shallow freshwater aquifer that sits in the porous limestone that makes up the islands. This aquifer, which also forms from pooled rainfall, sits on top of saltwater, like a drop of oil on a bowl of water.
Rainwater is particularly vulnerable to volcanic ash, says Esteban Gazel, a volcanologist at Cornell University. “The problem with the eruption in Tonga, and the same problem with the, is that the amount of ash that goes into surface waters and people’s tanks is itself a hazard. You’re drinking water that has particles that are really fine-grained, and they’re going to go into your body.”
How ash will affect the aquifer is harder to predict. When seawater boils from volcanic activity, all kinds of new chemicals can form. “In this Tonga eruption, there is a clear trace that people can see with satellites of hydrochloric acid,” says Gazel. When ash hits the ground, the chemicals can dissolve in rain and begin making their way into the ground. “That carries a very direct hazard, because [humans] are not made to drink very acidic water,” Gazel explains.
The islands’ limestone base is alkaline, which means it could neutralize acidic compounds in the water. But the water is also close to the surface, which is why Gazel says it’s impossible to know the end result without more careful analysis of the aquifer. “I would advise the authorities in Tonga just to monitor the groundwater composition,” he adds.These infrastructure issues aren’t limited to Tonga.
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