Las Vegas • Researchers are working to better measure how much water is lost to evaporation at the nation’s two largest reservoirs as part of effort they say could lead to new water management strategies.
The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and the Desert Research Institute have teamed up to study evaporation at Lake Powell, building upon ongoing research at Lake Mead, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported last week.
The researchers deployed floating platforms with remote sensors on the lake at the Arizona-Utah border to measure water temperature, weather conditions and other variables. From the data collected over next two to three years, they aim to produce a more accurate evaporation estimate that could be applied to measuring rates elsewhere.