From chapter introduction: Increases in streamflow discharges following a fire can result in little to substantial effects on the physical, chemical, and biological quality of the water in streams, rivers, and lakes. The magnitude of these effects is largely dependent on the size, intensity, and severity of the fire, and on the condition of the watershed at the time of burning (fig. 6.1). Higher postfire streamflow discharges can result in an additional transport to stream channels or other water bodies of solid and dissolved materials that adversely affect the quality of water for human, agricultural, or industrial purposes. The most obvious effects are produced by suspended and bedload sediments. These components of water quality were introduced and discussed in chapter 2, and in this chapter they are referred to in the discussion on water quality relative to municipal water supply quality. Fire affects water quality characteristics through the changes that the burning causes in the hydrologic cycle and streamflow regimes (see chapter 5). The effect of fire on water quality is the topic of this chapter.