Los Angeles dumps 20K ‘shade balls’ into reservoir to stop evaporation

According to a 2008 LA Times article, the LA Department of Water and Power used the plastic shade balls in 2008 to cover the Ivanhoe Reservoir.

Over the past couple years, cities across the state have dumped millions of so-called “shade balls” – black, plastic balls weighted down with water – into their reservoirs.

And in recent years, the city of Los Angeles has realized that shade balls can be useful for protecting drinking water from contaminants.

“In addition to cutting back on the need to chemically treat our water to prevent natural occurrences like algae, these shade balls are a cost-effective way to reduce evaporation each year by almost 300 million gallons, enough to provide drinking water for 8,100 people for a full year”, noted Councilman Mitch Englander.

Los Angeles is about to find out. This water control method is $250 million cheaper than another process that was considered.

Officials celebrated the plan with a final shade ball release Tuesday.

The city has already reduced its water use by 13% in the midst of the drought, Mr Garcetti says.

“The water needs to be shaded because when sunlight mixes with the bromide and chlorine in Ivanhoe’s water, the carcinogen bromate forms, said Pankaj Parekh, DWP’s director for water quality compliance”. It will be the first utility company to use this technology for water quality protection, highlighting the city’s leadership in addressing sustainability challenges. “We saved a lot of money”. “That’s 300 million gallons to fight this drought”. But thanks to shade balls, the bill was cut down to just $34.5 million.

The retired doctor said the idea came to him when he learned about the application of “bird balls” in ponds along airfield runways.

There is something about dumping 96million balls into a reservoir to block out the sun that seems very old school.

“Shade balls are a great example of how engineering meets common sense”, Marcie Edwards, LADWP General Manager, said. The answer? To keep the drought-stricken area’s water clean and protect it from evaporation.