Catalog Record
Report from S&T Project 19014: Operational Reservoir Evaporation Estimates for Reclamation Reservoirs
Reservoir evaporation is a critical but poorly quantified component of the western U.S. water budget, and operational estimates have long relied on static monthly rates, pan coefficients, or simplified equations that miss heat storage, wind effects, and seasonal variability. This report presents a physics-based framework for estimating daily evaporation at 247 Bureau of Reclamation reservoirs across 17 western states using the Daily Lake Evaporation Model (DLEM), a modified Penman model that accounts for heat storage and fetch effects. Forced by RTMA and gridMET meteorological data, DLEM produces daily evaporation time series from 1980 to present, delivered through a web application and API.
Generation Effort
S&T Project 19014: Operational Reservoir Evaporation Estimates for Reclamation Reservoirs
Location
Western US
Themes
Water
Reclamation Project
Reclamation Program
Science and Technology Program
Location Information
Location Name
Western US
Location Description
The 17 western states of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Wyoming, California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona..
Location Parent
State(s)
Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, North Dakota, Nebraska, New Mexico, Nevada, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington, Wyoming
Unified Region(s)
Missouri Basin, Arkansas-Rio Grande-Texas-Gulf, Upper Colorado Basin, Lower Colorado Basin, Columbia-Pacific Northwest, California-Great Basin
Timezone
MT
Elevation
[ N/A ]
Vertical Datum
NAVD88
Coordinates (lat, long)
See
Location Details
Horizontal Datum
WGS84
