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Lake Shasta reservoir is managing well, despite extreme heat and increased evaporation

An aerial view of Lake Shasta, the Shasta Dam is in the center of the frame, with water rushing down the side.
Bureau of Reclamation
/
Flickr
An aerial view of Lake Shasta and the Shasta Dam, March 11, 2019.

Record-breaking heat in Redding is causing more water than usual to evaporate from California’s largest reservoir. But high water levels in Lake Shasta mean the impacts aren’t a major concern.

Over 3 billion gallons of water has evaporated from Lake Shasta this month, when temperatures soared to nearly 120 degrees in Redding. That’s 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’s not significant enough to affect their overall plan.

“We call it noise in the system," Bader said. "It’s more than we anticipated but not enough to change any major decisions for us.”

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’s 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’s more flexibility to ensure everyone gets enough.

Bader said they’re moving towards more conservative, long-term water storage plans, to ensure the state’s water supply can withstand multi-year drought conditions.

Roman Battaglia is a regional reporter for Jefferson Public Radio. After graduating from Oregon State University, Roman came to JPR as part of the Charles Snowden Program for Excellence in Journalism in 2019. He then joined Delaware Public Media as a Report For America fellow before returning to the JPR newsroom.