Los Angeles Unleashes Millions Of Plastic 'Shade Balls' Into Reservoir

By Sara Jerome
@sarmje

Millions of plastic balls have been unleashed into the Los Angeles Reservoir. It sounds like an epic pollution disaster, but it’s on purpose, and the city itself is responsible for putting them there.

Los Angeles is the first city to use 4-inch polyethylene balls as a water quality tool. The balls “help prevent carcinogen contamination and help control the area’s concerning drought – not to mention that they look super-entertaining when unleashed into the waters,” Inhabitat reported

“A shade ball, which sounds like it could be a Pokemon move, is actually a clever water-cleaning device: Each one reduces evaporation, protects against animals and dirt, and costs a mere 36 cents. A total of 96 million have been poured into the 175-acre reservoir, which holds up to 3.3 billion gallons of water,” Gizmodo reported.

Richard Harasick, director of water operation at the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, described the effectiveness of this equipment for quality and saving water.

“These small plastic shade balls protect the water quality by preventing sunlight-triggered chemical reactions that occur, and they deter birds and other wildlife and protect the water from producing disinfection byproducts,” he said, per NPR.

He pointed out that the balls also minimize evaporation. At the Los Angeles reservoir, for instance, they reduce evaporation by “300 million gallons of water every year, which is enough to fill five Rose Bowls,” he said, per the report.

The strategy helps the utility comply with federal rules. “There are a number of regulations from the EPA, notably the surface water treatment rule, which basically says when you have a body of water which is open to atmosphere and subject to runoff, that you have to cover it or otherwise take it off-line or filter it,” Harasick said.

The plastic balls may be small, but they “pack a big economic punch,” the San Jose Mercury News reported. “The project has saved the utility more than $250 million in capital improvements in complying with federal Environmental Protection Agency regulations regarding surface water treatment.”

For similar stories, visit Water Online’s Source Water Contamination Solutions Center.

http://www.pollutiononline.com/doc/los-angeles-unleashes-millions-plastic-shade-balls-reservoir-0001