Panama calls for bids on $2 billion water-shortage project

PANAMA CITY (AP) — The Panama Canal authority has put out a call for bids on a $2 billion package of water supply projects aimed at combating a drought that affects the fresh water lakes that supply the canal’s locks. The projects will seek alternatives for the water currently supplied by the Gatun and Alajuela artificial lakes. Ideas suggested in the past include building dams, transferring water from other lakes to Gatun, or building desalinization plants. This year the canal began