Eye-popping story from the Desert Sun: California’s heatwave drastically affects water reservoirs, including the state’s largest man-made reservoir, Lake Shasta. The intense heat in July has caused approximately 2.2 billion gallons of water to evaporate from Lake Shasta within the first nine days, with a single day’s loss reaching nearly 289 million gallons. This evaporation is unprecedented, driven by record-breaking temperatures, such as 119 degrees recorded at Redding Regional Airport. 

Other reservoirs like Trinity Lake and Keswick Lake have suffered significant water losses. This evaporation impacts water storage projections critical for irrigation and electricity generation. Managing this evaporation remains challenging, with past experiments like covering reservoirs with plastic balls proving ineffective.