A California project that's harnessing solar power to save water instead of dry it up.

From American public media, this is Marketplace Tech.

I'm Megan McCarty-Korino.

It's a bit counterintuitive, given the dousing California just got from a series of giant

storms, but most of the state is still technically in a drought.

It's a trend that's only expected to intensify in the long-term with climate change, as warmer

average temperatures increase evaporation.

Take California's vast system of open canals, which transport water thousands of miles

across the state, from reservoirs to agricultural lands and metropolitan areas.

UC Merced scientists estimate the waterways lose tens of billions of gallons of water

to evaporation every year.

A new project aims to shield the flows from the heat and sun and help the state meet its

goal to transition to renewable energy by covering canals with solar panels.

Kaylee Wells from KCRW has this story.

California ships water across more than 700 miles.

Most of the state's water comes from the northern half of California, but most of it gets

used in the southern half.

So researchers from UC Merced have studied the idea of putting solar panels atop those

canals.

Brandy McEwen is the lead author.

If we put solar panels over all 4,000 miles of California's open canals, we estimate

it we could say of 65 billion gallons of water annually.

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