Floating HexProtect Devices Reduce Evaporative Water Loss on a Wildlife Tank by 48%.

            Evaporation drives substantial loss of water in open bodies, including wildlife tanks that provide drinking water to numerous animal species across Arizona. Various methods exist to mitigate evaporation, including chemical films, suspended covers, and floating covers. HexProtect: Aqua is a wind-resistant floating cover consisting of multiple hexagonal units that form a lattice structure across the water surface on which they are deployed. In 2023, these floating Hex Protect devices were deployed at the Cottonwood Wildlife Tank in the Pusch Ridge Wilderness northwest of Tucson, Arizona to mitigate evaporation; however, their effectiveness had not yet been quantified. During the 2024 water year, two Class A evaporation pans were installed within 0.5 miles of the tank to evaluate device performance. One pan was equipped with HexProtect devices while the other served as an unmodified control. Each week, water level changes and precipitation depths were recorded; the difference between the two represents net weekly evaporation. By the end of the study period, the test pans evaporation was reduced by 48% when compared to the control pan. When extrapolated to the dimensions of the wildlife tank, annual retention was calculated to be 23,600 gallons. Over the 25-year life expectancy of the HexProtect devices, this translates to an estimated cost savings of $206,205 compared to hauling an equivalent volume of water by truck. These results suggest that floating covers such as HexProtect: Aqua represent a cost effective, low maintenance solution for reducing evaporative water loss in open water bodies.