A person, presumably Singaporean, achieved a moment of clarity enough to open his word processor/ email, and pounded out a letter to The Straits Times forum page.
The issue?
He believes he is not the first person to think about covering up the reservoirs in Singapore to prevent the loss of water via evaporation.
Here is his letter:
Prevent loss of reservoir water through evaporation
Given Singapore's hot weather, much of our reservoirs' water would be lost through evaporation.
If 50 per cent of the exposed surface areas can be covered with an impermeable floating material, the overall evaporation would be reduced by 50 per cent.
This would quite significantly cut the amount of water lost through the natural process of evaporation.
Surely, it cannot be that nobody has thought of this easy way of conserving the water in our reservoirs.
Mak Ngow Chai
And you know what? He might be half right.
Somebody has indeed thought of doing just that but it will not be easy at all.
In 2014, Fast Company's Co.Exist explained why and how land-scarce Singapore is reportedly planning on covering its inland reservoirs with solar panels to harness renewable energy in a June 11, 2014, piece.
Singapore was reportedly planning to be the first to pioneer such technology for a floating solar farm to provide green energy.
One of the other upside to water-based solar panels is that by shading the water, the panels are likely to help reduce evaporation. Plus, the water may help keep the panels cooler so they run more efficiently.
Feasibility tests were reportedly being carried out to see which smaller versions of 10 different designs tested out was the best.
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