Wyoming Framework Water Plan - Living Rivers Home Page

5.0 USE
human activities (e.g., impounded, partly drained). The three major wetland systems mapped within the
Snake/Salt River Basin are Riverine, Lacustrine, and Palustrine.
Wetlands in the state provide food, shelter, and breeding habitat for waterfowl and other wildlife.
Wetlands may also improve water quality by contributing to the removal of nutrients, sediment, and other
impurities in water, in turn protecting rivers and lakes. Also, wetlands can help control erosion and
flooding during high water events.
5.7 EVAPORATION
Evaporative loss from reservoirs is a loss or use that is not typically thought of as a consumptive
use. The increased surface area of a reservoir provides an ideal condition for evaporation to take place.
A similar situation occurs for natural lakes and streams. The seven river basin planning area studies
addressed evaporative loss in varying ways. From the reports and technical memoranda, estimates of
evaporative loss were compiled. For the average or normal condition, it was estimated that reservoir
evaporative loss amounts to about 586,000 acre-feet per year for the state. A more detailed discussion
and breakdown by basin is provided in Chapter 7, Table 7-1. Figure 5–11 shows the locations of selected
reservoirs over 1,000 acre-feet in capacity.
5.8 REFERENCES
American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). 1990. Evapotranspiration and Irrigation Water
Requirement. ASCE Manuals and Reports on Engineering Practice No. 70.
Cuenca, Richard H. 1989. Irrigation System Design – An Engineering Approach. Prentice-Hall,
Inc. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey.
University of Wyoming, Cooperative Extension Service, College of Agriculture. 1999. Resident
Outdoor Recreation for Fremont County, WY. July.
University of Wyoming, Survey Research Center. 1997. Wyoming State Parks and Historic Sites
Survey.
Yellowstone National Park, Visitation Statistics.
http://www.nps.gov/yell/parkmgmt/historicstats.htm
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