Inflation adjusted… those canals cost $50 billion to construct and the project took decades. It would cost far more now, since getting access to the land rights would be incredibly expensive now, and they’re already not providing enough water so if more canals were to be built, they needed to start construction 20 years ago.

Upgrading the canals with shade and other improvements can potentially double the amount of water they provide, that’s how much is lost compared to a regular closed in underground pipe.

Solar panels won’t get it to the same efficiency as an underground pipe but it’ll be a major improvement, and unlike regular shade structures (which are very expensive to build), solar shade costs about the same upfront but provides ongoing revenue. It’s an absolute no brainer to do this.