Evaporation Reduction: Summary of Long‐term Tank Studies
Publication: Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering
Volume 109, Issue 1
Abstract
A review of evaporation reduction studies indicated that shades suspended above a water surface and floating covers on a water surface gave best results. Of the two, floating covers were most practical. Field tests using floating covers of foamed wax blocks, continuous wax, and foamed rubber reduced evaporation losses 36%–84% over an 8 yr period. Based on the amount of the water saved and the cost of materials used, the continuous wax covers provided the lowest cost water at $0.08 to $0.13/1,000 L/yr, followed by foamed rubber and foamed wax blocks at $0.17 and $0.18 per 1,000 L/yr, respectively. However, evaporation reduction efficiency of the continuous wax covers began to decrease after a few years of exposure, while the foamed rubber and foamed wax blocks showed no signs of deterioration. Long‐term durability, efficiency, and climatic range of usability should be considered along with costs when determining the most practical cover to use.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
References
1.
Cluff, C. B., “Evaporation Reduction Investigations Relating to Small Reservoirs,” Technical Bulletin No. 177, Arizona Agricultural Experiment Station, Oct., 1966, pp. 1–47.
2.
Cluff, C. B., “Patchwork Quilt Halts Water Evaporation Loss,” California Farmer, Vol. 237, No. 5, Oct., 1972, 18 pp.
3.
Cooley, K. R., “Energy Relationships in the Design of Floating Covers for Evaporation Control,” Water Resources Research, Vol. 6, No. 3, June, 1970, pp. 717–727.
4.
Cooley, K. R., “Evaporation Suppression for Conserving Water Supplies,” Proceedings of the Water Harvesting Symposium, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Western Region, ARS W‐22, Feb., 1975, pp. 192–200.
5.
Cooley, K. R., and Cluff, C. B., “Reducing Pond Evaporation with Perlite Ore,” Journal of the Irrigation and Drainage Division, ASCE, Vol. 98, No. IR2, June, 1972, pp. 255–266.
6.
Cooley, K. R., and Myers, L. E., “Evaporation Reduction with Reflective Covers,” Journal of the Irrigation and Drainage Division, ASCE, Vol. 99, Nc IR3, Sept., 1973, pp. 353–363.
7.
Cooley, K. R., Frasier, G. W., and Drew, K. R., “Water Harvesting: An Aid to Range Management,” Proceedings of the First International Rangeland Congress, Denver, Colo., Aug., 1978, pp. 292–294.
8.
Crow, F. R., and Manges, H. L., “Comparison of Chemical and Non‐Chemical Techniques for Suppressing Evaporation from Small Reservoirs,” Transactions, Americal Society of Agricultural Engineers, Vol. 10, No. 2, 1967, pp. 172–174.
9.
Cruse, R. R., and Harbeck, G. E., “Evaporation Control Research 1955–58,” U.S. Geological Survey Water Supply Paper 1480, 1960, pp. 1–45.
10.
Dedrick, A. R., Hansen, T. D., and Williamson, W. R., “Floating Sheets of Foam Rubber for Reducing Stock Tank Evaporation,” Journal of Range Management, Vol. 26, No. 6, Nov., 1973, pp. 404–406.
11.
Drew, W. M., “Evaporation Control—A Comparative Study of Six Evaporation Restriction Media,” Aqua, Jan., 1972, pp. 23–26.
12.
Frasier, G. W., and Myers, L. E., “Stable Alkanol Dispersion to Reduce Evaporation,” Journal of the Irrigation and Drainage Division, ASCE, Vol. 94, No. IR1, Mar., 1968, pp. 79–89.
13.
Keyes, C. G., and Gunaji, N. N., “Effect of Dye on Solar Evaporation of Brine,” International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics General Assembly of Bern Publication No. 78, International Association of Scientific Hydrology, 1967, pp. 338–347.
14.
Linsley, R. K., and Franzini, J. B., Water Resources Engineering, McGraw‐Hill Book Co., Inc., New York, N.Y., 1964, pp. 360–375.
15.
Myers, L. E., and Frasier, G. W., “Evaporation Reduction with Floating Granular Materials,” Journal of the Irrigation and Drainage Division, ASCE, Vol. 96, No. IR4, Dec., 1970, pp. 425–436.
16.
Pearson, H. A., Morrison, D. C., and Wolke, W. K., “Trick Tanks: Water Development for Range Livestock,” Journal of Range Management, Vol. 22, No. 5, Sept., 1969, pp. 359–360.
17.
Roberts, W. J., “Water Hauling by Trucks in Illinois,” Circular No. 106, Illinois State Water Survey, Urbana, Ill., 1971.
18.
Yu, S. L., and Brutsaert, W., “Evaporation From Very Shallow Pans,” Journal of Applied Meteorology, Vol. 6, No. 2, Apr., 1967, pp. 265–271.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering
Volume 109 • Issue 1 • March 1983
Pages: 89 - 98
Copyright
Copyright © 1983 ASCE.
History
Published online: Mar 1, 1983
Published in print: Mar 1983
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.