Estimation of Monthly Evaporation from Lake Ashtabula in North Dakota, Orwell Lake in Minnesota, and Lake Traverse in Minnesota and South Dakota, 1931-2001;Water-resources investigations rept

摘要

Reliable water supplies are needed for population growth of cities in the Red River of the North Basin. Currently, reservoirs on tributaries of the Red River of the North provide water for Fargo and Grand Forks, N. Dak., and other cities along the river. The Dakota Water Resources Act was passed by the U.S. Congress on December 15, 2000 (Garrison Diversion Conservancy District and the Dakotas Area Of.ce of the Bureau of Reclamation). The Act authorized the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a comprehensive study of the future water-quantity and quality needs of the Red River of the North Basin in North Dakota and the possible options to meet those water needs. Adequate estimates of evaporative losses from the reservoirs in the Red River of the North Basin are needed to determine the total water supply in the Basin. To provide the needed evaporation data, the U.S. Geological Survey conducted a study in cooperation with the Bureau of Reclamation to review studies that evaluated evaporation estimation methods and to estimate monthly evaporation from selected reservoirs for 1931-2001. This report describes the results of the study. The reservoirs for which monthly evaporation was estimated are Lake Ashtabula in North Dakota, Orwell Lake in Minnesota, and Lake Traverse in Minnesota and South Dakota.