The city of Los Angeles has spent $34.5 million on “shade balls”, which is an initiative to prevent the loss of 300 million gallons of water per year. The mayor of the city, Eric Garcetti, released the shade balls this week into the LA reservoir to help conserve the local water supply.
LADWP is the first utility company to use this technology for water quality protection. Today’s deployment marked the final phase of an effort that involves the deployment of 96 million shade balls to the 175-acre reservoir -- the largest in-basin facility of its kind owned and managed by LADWP. The small, black plastic balls protect water quality by preventing sunlight-triggered chemical reactions, deterring birds and other wildlife, and protecting water from rain and wind-blown dust.
A cost-effective investment that brings the L.A. Reservoir into compliance with new federal water quality mandates, the shade balls are expected to save $250 million when compared to other comparable tools considered to meet that goal. Those alternatives included splitting the reservoir into two with a bisecting dam; and installing two floating covers that would have cost more than $300 million. In addition, the shade balls will also prevent the annual loss to evaporation of about 300 million gallons of water.
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1) You think they would be white.
2) Looks like a bitch to clean up.
Here in Brazil we are having a big trouble with that, ppl who paid R$89/m with electricity in 2012 is going to pay over R$230/m for the same amount by 2016 because water levels of hydroelectric running low on water reserves they get to use thermoelectric(diesel) + investments on distribution net.
I was thinking they could make a roof here, but seems like the balls idea is way better.
Also, the balls are black to block the light from entering the water and heating it, also slowing the vapor effect.