Over 3 billion gallons of water has evaporated from Lake Shasta this month, when temperatures soared to nearly 120 degrees in Redding. That鈥檚 an evaporation increase of around 10% above average, according to the Bureau of Reclamation.
But, Reclamation Area Manager Don Bader said despite the hot weather increasing evaporation and water use for agriculture, it鈥檚 not significant enough to affect their overall plan.
鈥淲e call it noise in the system," Bader said. "It鈥檚 more than we anticipated but not enough to change any major decisions for us.鈥�
Bader said the Bureau accounts for evaporation when planning water usage for the year. Water from Shasta Lake is used for a variety of uses, including agriculture and municipal needs.
The amount of water that鈥檚 evaporated from Lake Shasta this month is just 0.2% of the total capacity of the reservoir. Bader said they anticipate a total of 100,000 acre-feet of water to evaporate from the lake this year. That, in itself, is more water than some reservoirs contain but is still fairly insignificant when looking at this lake, according to Bader.
Shasta Lake started the season with twice as much water as the previous year. Bader said that means there鈥檚 more flexibility to ensure everyone gets enough.
Bader said they鈥檙e moving towards more conservative, long-term water storage plans, to ensure the state鈥檚 water supply can withstand multi-year drought conditions.
