Am I the only one that is lost?

Is more water lost in the panama canal with one large boat or many small boats?

• Lake Gatun in the center of the Panama provides the fresh water that powers the locks in the canal. My question is this: is more of this fresh water lost to the sea if you have one big "Panamax" ship down go through the locks to the ocean, or is more lost when you fill up the lock with a lot of little pleasure yachts going down instead? The locks operate by allowing water to flow from the upper lock to the lower one, waiting until the levels are equalized, and then opening the gate to allow the boat(s) to pass. When the boat or boats pass to the lower lock, they displace some of the fresh water in the lower lock so that it moves back into the upper lock again. Then, the water is released from the lower lock into the canal so that the level is equalized with the canal, and the boats can float out again. This is the water that is "lost". Question is, how much is lost and which causes more loss?

• Answer:

  The amount of water used in each lockage is the same, regardless of the size of the vessel. The Canal currently does not have a water problem, it is beginning to experience a physical capacity problem. I would not refer to water loss, but to water administration, since the Panama Canal Authority administrates the water that otherwise would run to the sea, as every river system, to provide a service to the shipping industry and generate a profit for the country.