California reservoir levels dropped by billions of gallons in July
California’s scorching July heat not only shattered temperature records, it also removed billions of gallons of water from the state’s largest reservoirs. From July 1-18, about 4.1 billion gallons of water evaporated from California’s biggest reservoir, Shasta Lake. This loss highlights challenges water managers face not just this summer, but in a hotter, drier future with a thirstier atmosphere. “If we have less coming in and more going out, we’re going to be struggling to manage the system moving forward if there’s more demand,” said Christopher Pearson, an associate research hydrologist with the Desert Research Institute. “The system gets out of whack, just like your checkbook does.”
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