Proposal to cover California Aquaduct channels with solar panels to prevent evaporation and algae

Re: Proposal to cover California Aquaduct channels with solar panels to prevent evaporation and alga

Sounds like a great location to maximize every kind of problem you can think of and a great many unthought of problems.

 

Re: Proposal to cover California Aquaduct channels with solar panels to prevent evaporation and alga

How about placing the solar panels in the right of way next to the canal? I think that would be a great location.

 

Re: Proposal to cover California Aquaduct channels with solar panels to prevent evaporation and alga

What a good idea! I am sure when it hits 100 F there, that they are loosing half the water to evaporation....

 

Re: Proposal to cover California Aquaduct channels with solar panels to prevent evaporation and alga

The canal is not that wide or deep. It should be easy to achieve what is described.

Placing the panels next to the canal won't prevent evaporation or algae.

Is this a win/win (except for the cost)? I don't see too many negatives.

 

Re: Proposal to cover California Aquaduct channels with solar panels to prevent evaporation and alga

Flash flooding?

 

Re: Proposal to cover California Aquaduct channels with solar panels to prevent evaporation and alga

Hi All,

Even for the movies it would be neet. Put circular rain drain holes in the panels. Then when a car goes through a puddle underneath the panel, you get a shot of water up through the holes...!...

 

Re: Proposal to cover California Aquaduct channels with solar panels to prevent evaporation and alga

They control the flow at each reservoir, to limit how much we steal, err.. take from Nor Cal.

 

Re: Proposal to cover California Aquaduct channels with solar panels to prevent evaporation and alga

During the last go round on moving more water to SoCal I saw a bumper sticker in San Jose that said, "Flush twice, LA needs the water."

 

Re: Proposal to cover California Aquaduct channels with solar panels to prevent evaporation and alga

Understand. However, there are flow controls on the Mississippi River as well......

 

Re: Proposal to cover California Aquaduct channels with solar panels to prevent evaporation and alga

Flood water and aqueduct water don't mix.

By design the aqueducts don't flow in low lying areas where flood and storm water would congregate. This would contaminate our drinking water.

The aqueducts are located on high ground to take advantage of gravity. You let them follow a high terrain as long as possible. This uses the least amount of energy.

When it comes time it can not flow due to gravity anymore, we have these huge pumping stations, with huge power stations and/or substations, located at a foothill to pump it to the top of a hilltop or mountain, where we can let gravity take over again. It's design to be pumped back to high ground.

While it is pumped, it runs in multiple giant sealed pipes so the head pressure can push the water up.

It's very akin to pulse & glide.

Some stations even try to recover the energy of the water coming back down, like regenerative braking.

 

Re: Proposal to cover California Aquaduct channels with solar panels to prevent evaporation and alga

What a great idea......create a home for the homeless.......even comes with heat. !!!!!!!!!!

 

Re: Proposal to cover California Aquaduct channels with solar panels to prevent evaporation and alga

Thanks for taking the time to cover that aspect. Still think water based solar panels have limitations, but can see where that is not the problem I thought it might be.

 

Re: Proposal to cover California Aquaduct channels with solar panels to prevent evaporation and alga

Your thought still makes sense in that floating panels can still be easily damaged.

It would be better just put tarps over the waterway to limit evap and algea, and put solar panels in the right of way where it is easier to maintain.

 

Re: Proposal to cover California Aquaduct channels with solar panels to prevent evaporation and alga

if you put them on a floating dock like structure, it'd probably be fine. Esp you you then moored the floating platforms so that they couldn't move very much. What are the typical flow velocities in the aqueducts I wonder?

 

Re: Proposal to cover California Aquaduct channels with solar panels to prevent evaporation and alga

That was an interesting question so I looked it up. I do remember seeing a couple of aqueducts up close and the water appeared to be moving at about walking speed.

3 mph

water.ca.gov/recreation/brochures/pdf/50swp.pdf
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