Water Source from Under Our Feet – Case Study at Homokhátság Area, Hungary

In case of long time wildfires, firefighters usually suffer from the lack of reliable water supply. One of the several reasons is obviously that most wildfires occur during periods of drought, when there is no rainfall and natural water sources locally available are low or missing. Another problem with the water supply is that the fire front and the water source are usually quite far apart. In this case, firefighters are faced with a logistical problem, where not only the limited number of fire trucks, but also the slow movement of these vehicles or even their getting stuck in rural terrain have to be taken into account. The Hungarian example of the Homokhátság area presented in this paper shows the use of a local opportunity, just as the smart use of groundwater can provide an adequate water source at the fire site. With regard to the effective water transport, the question arises as to whether the average water flow that can be provided during a conventional long-distance water transport can also be provided by the water flow of wells drilled on the fire site. In this example, drilled well can provide a flow rate of 400 lmin−1 in less than in 3 h after drilling has started. The research shows that, under certain conditions, groundwater supplied by drilled wells can provide an alternative solution to the logistical difficulties of long-distance water transport in a long-term firefighting operation.