Los Angeles battles drought by releasing millions of shade balls into reservoirs

LOS ANGELES — Millions of plastic shade balls were poured into the Los Angeles Reservoir on Monday to help protect water quality and prevent evaporation.

Hollow and weighted down with water, the balls will remain on the water’s surface and protect the water from dust, rain, birds and reduce algae growth. The balls will also block the water surface from the sun, preventing bromide and chlorine in the water from reacting and forming bromate, a known carcinogen.

Less than $35 million was used to produce the shade balls, an amount much smaller than the estimated $300 million cost of covering the 175-acre facility.

"This is a blend of how engineering really meets common sense. We saved a lot of money, we did all the right things," said Los Angeles Department of Water and Power General Manager Marcie Edwards at a press conference.

Los Angeles is the first city in the United States to use shade balls. Ninety-six million shade balls have been poured into several reservoirs in LA. According to ABC 7 News, the balls will prevent an estimated 300 million gallons of water from evaporating into the air each year.

The balls can last 10 years inside the reservoirs before they are recycled and replaced.

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[dbsirius]

But what will prevent the water from absorbing the chemicals that the plastic balls are composed of?

[Gumden]

Wouldn't white colored ones be better? Because white reflects light instead of absorbing it.

[dongblak]

Those black balls might make the water salty.

[enemay]

35 million!? how about just buy water from other state!

[joselarios]

No amount of money can compare to the thing that pretty much every living thing on this planet needs, water. Well played, hopefully it helps.

[AliGtorGamers]

what about that plastic when its heated up.. it releases toxic into the water...

[CowneloAlvaroid]

"the shade balls are coated in a chemical" That doesn't sound good!

[Ginric]

Actually no this is nothing to do with Drought, this is because the water was forming Bromate, a carcinogenic compound, in the sun. The chlorine that is required to purify the water was reacting with the sunlight and natural bromine in the water to make this Bromate chemical. The evaporation was just a happy bonus

[beauregard]

This is what they do instead of repenting of sin and praying to God for mercy. It won't work.

[Tulipstarful]

Sounds like a great idea at first, but then at the same time, it doesn't seem safe to have pieces of chemically-coated black plastic floating on top of reservoirs while they cook under the sun all day.. for years.   What about all the new desalination and water recycling technologies currently being developed in parts of the world, like the UAE,   that always had to deal with this situation? Is that really so out of the question?

[MissLilithLilium]

LA water already tastes awful, glad I just flew into Vermont

[Queen_Nyxie]

Only a minute long and _still_ more informative than when TYT did the story!

[johnmastroligulano]

Silver/White would have been the best solution they chose black for appearance sake not what is best which is for sure not black which is going to get much hotter causing the loss of far more water & polluting it with the balls because of heating the plastic unlike what would happen with silver/white balls or hey maybe I am somehow wrong lol.  Really would be great if we had caring intelligent people working throughout the gov/state.

[vikable]

Hope the black balls are BPH free. I know the sun WILL beat down on those black balls making the chemicals leech out into the water but now you have water, don't worry about the endocrine disrupting chemicals 👍