What are the black balls in LA reservoir?

What are the black balls in LA reservoir?

shade balls
The shade balls used in the Los Angeles project are made of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) with carbon black additive to protect the plastic from ultraviolet radiation. Adding carbon black also prevents the formation of bromate, a suspected human carcinogen.

What are shade balls used for in the LA reservoir?

The creators of shade balls originally used them to prevent chemical treatments in the reservoir from reacting with sunlight and creating bromate, which is a carcinogen regulated by the EPA. California began deploying shade balls in 2008 as a cost-effective way to reduce bromate levels and also prevent algae growth.

How do you stop pond water from evaporating?

How to Protect Ponds From Evaporation

1. Add aquatic plants that will partially cover the water surface to your pond.
2. Plant tall bushes or trees around the outside of your pond to shade the water.
3. Install a trellis on the edge of the pond in a position where it will block the afternoon sunlight.

How much water evaporates from a pond each day?

Average Evaporation On average a water feature will lose ½% to 1% of the gallons pumped per hour in a day.

How much does a pond evaporate in a day?

Gallons Evaporated Per Day A pond in direct sunlight will lose around 1% of the gallons pumped per hour over the course of the day.

Why are there 96 million black balls in the Los Angeles reservoir?

Ninety-six million. That’s how many black plastic ‘shade balls’ it takes to cover the Los Angeles reservoir. Why, you ask? Well, despite what has often been reported as the main purpose of these balls, the idea didn’t actually start with just protecting the reservoir from evaporation.

How are black shade balls help the l.a.reservoir?

The shade balls also prevent algae from forming, resulting in the use of less chlorine to disinfect the reservoir. And just before you go thinking that the black balls increase the evaporation rate in the reservoir, Derek Muller made sure to clarify and explain this particular issue to the staff at the L.A. reservoir.

How big is the reservoir in Los Angeles?

On Monday Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti supervised the latest onslaught of 4-inch black plastic balls, bringing the total count to 96 million in the 175-acre reservoir. Located in Sylmar, the reservoir holds up to 3.3 billion gallons, enough to supply the city with drinking water for up to three weeks.

Why are there black balls in the Ivanhoe reservoir?

A few years ago, Derek Muller of Veritasium took a boat trip to the middle of the Ivanhoe reservoir. Here, he picked the brains of its custodians and found out just why this reservoir which provides so many people with clean drinking water has so many black balls floating on top of it.