When you think of water canals, you might think of Venice, Italy, Amsterdam in the Netherlands or even Venice, California. You probably don’t think about Phoenix. 

But metro Phoenix actually has more miles of canals than all three of those places combined.

The city's canal systems are operated by the Salt River Project and the Central Arizona Project for the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. But Phoenix has had canals long before the Reclamation Act was signed in 1902.

In this week's episode of Valley 101, a podcast from The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com, we find out the history of the canal system dating back to 400 A.D. and how it helps us live in the desert today.

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