Do you ever think about what Shade Balls can do for you?

[Agschmid]

Some creative thread titles today

Los Angeles Deploys Nifty "Shade Balls" to Protect Water in Dwindling Reservoirs

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The Los Angeles Times reports that 20,000 black plastic balls have been added to the largest reservoir in L.A., the last of millions of "shade balls" meant to bring the city in line with federal water quality standards while helping preserve water in the midst of California's historic drought.

The balls, which have been in use in Los Angeles on a smaller scale since 2008, now cover all of the city's reservoirs, a gently-bobbing line of defense against harmful algae blooms and other chemical reactions brought on by direct sunlight, as well as a barrier to cut down on the loss of water due to evaporation.

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The shade balls are made in California for about 36 cents apiece and are a source of pride for local officials, who characterized them as an innovative cost-saving measure. The city's mayor, who was on hand to throw in a few of the last balls himself, put out a press release to tout their track record during their last several years of use at L.A.'s three smaller reservoirs. From SkyNews:

-Los Angeles Department of Water and Power general manager Marcie Edwards says the project is "a blend of how engineering really meets common sense."
-Other solutions [for meeting federal water regulations] included splitting the reservoir and installing floating covers that would have cost $300 million.
-She added: "We saved a lot of money. We did all the right things."
-Mayor Eric Garcetti says the balls will conserve 300 million gallons of water that would otherwise evaporate every year.
-He added: "While it's meeting the minimum standards, we want to go beyond that and have the healthiest water so we've been spreading these balls everywhere."

Read More about how they help here.

[Liberal Veteran]

1. I suppose sunburned balls would be quite uncomfortable.

And Axe has some interesting ideas on keeping them clean.

[Blue_Tires]

8. Awesome...

I thought I was the only one on DU who loved to post Axe commercials...

[Agschmid]

10. Everything about that sounds horrible!

Ugh...

ETA: Sunburned balls sound horrible, clean balls sound good.

[Egnever]

40. Of

The part where she handles the golf balls had me rolling

[Adsos Letter]

2. That takes a lot of balls.

[FlatBaroque]

3. This is the type of well intentioned act

that leads to some sort of disaster. File under "What could possibly go wrong?"

[FSogol]

7. You are right. Better to not do anything.

Here you go, just replace "Lepus" with "Shade Balls."

[LanternWaste]

17. What specifically leads you to this conclusion?

What specifically leads you to this conclusion? Or (and I find this a wee bit more likely) is yours simply some bumper-sticker masquerading as rational criticism?

[wickerwoman]

37. There's bound to be something

living in the water that either depends on sunlight, or coming up to the surface for oxygen, or on the water temperature remaining within a certain range. Or chemicals from the plastic will leach into the water. Historically this is the kind of intervention that almost inevitably leads to unintended consequences.

Rather than deal with the actual problem (nutrient runoff from agricultural production and overpopulation in an area that doesn't have the water resources to support itself) we've "solved" the problem by dumping a lot of black balls in the reservoir and calling it a day. Hooray for science!

[royable]

41. Why not a photovoltaic cover?

I agree. Chemicals from the plastics, especially hot plastics, leaching into the water, seems like a very likely concern. But if you're going to float something on the reservoir, why not some sort of floating photovoltaic mat? Think of the amount of electricity that could be generated from all that surface area!

[Agschmid]

42. Or just a photovoltaic roof. Good idea.

[jeff47]

45. Because it would cost 10,000x more and require lots of maintenance. (nt)

[jeff47]

44. It's a concrete-bottom, 100% artificial reservoir.

It doesn't have anything bigger than algae living in it.

Rather than deal with the actual problem (nutrient runoff from agricultural production and overpopulation in an area that doesn't have the water resources to support itself)

There is no nutrient runoff involved. The water comes from non-agricultural areas, through a desert, and into Los Angeles. Where nothing drains into this reservoir, in order to avoid ground contamination.

Or chemicals from the plastic will leach into the water.

It's the same plastic as in milk jugs.

[Bunkalup]

52. Just like the LAUSD iPad program

There does not seem to be a reason to argue with the OP. We(Californians) are famous for "What could possibly go wrong?" I seems pretty dumb to dump a bunch of plastic into our drinking water, especially since we go to great lengths to keep it out of most bodies of water and even landfills. How about we cover the next reservoir with useless iPads and plastic bags from Encino.

[SolutionisSolidarity]

4. I wonder why black instead of white.

Wouldn't they want to reflect more of the suns energy rather than absorb it?

[zipplewrath]

5. Cheap

I suspect it's a cost thing. Gray/black is easier to produce in plastics. They may be using a lot of recycled plastics and when the colors mix you tend to get some shade of gray/black.

[Agschmid]

12. I always thought black reflected...

Hence dark roofs? Maybe I've been wrong ALL THIS TIME!

Oh no!

[NutmegYankee]

18. Since white light is made of all colors, that color reflects the most frequencies.

Black objects reflect the least light.

[Agschmid]

22. My "duh" moment...

I wonder why roofs and these balls are black?

[NutmegYankee]

27. White plastic breaks down quickly due to UV radiation exposure.

Carbon black was added to the plastic to stabilize the balls in UV light from the sun. The plastic is the same stuff used in plastic milk jugs, and it only lasts a few months in sunlight.

As for roof shingles, the asphalt shingles hold the tiny grit material with tar, which is black. People like the black shingles because they stay/look cleaner longer than grey or beige shingles. They do warm up an attic more, but better insulation in the attic can offset that extra heat.

[Dont call me Shirley]

19. White reflects heat/light. Black absorbs it.

I found this out while researching purchasing a metal roof.

[Agschmid]

23. I can see a dark roof making sense in the NE...

Maybe in the south they are lighter?

[Dont call me Shirley]

25. in the southwest, white or silver are best.

[Salviati]

29. In general lighter roofs are better everywhere:

In the northern tier of the United States,
one might think that a black roof would provide a winter heating benefit to building owners. However, there are several factors that make any potential heat gain relatively immaterial:

(link to breakdown of why a dark roof doesn't really help all that much)
http://www.whiteroofproject.org/what-about-winter

[Agschmid]

31. Very cool link, thanks!

[Travis_0004]

55. White still makes the most sense

Even in Alaska white makes the most sense.

In winter the suns rays are indirect, and often covered with snow, so white always has the biggest benefit on a roof.

[RKP5637]

38. Same here, but it was white tile. White reflects heat, same for clothes. n/t

[cherokeeprogressive]

39. Go touch a black car on a sunny day...

Or better yet sit on black vinyl upholstery in shorts on a hot day after the sun's been shining on the seat.

Yowch.

[deathrind]

14. That was my first thought.

If they want to reflect light/heat white is much better at doing that than black.

[jeff47]

46. Because reflecting the light would allow algae to grow.

Absorb the light (well, really they're converting it to infrared), and there is not enough light for the algae to grow.

It's not a 100% uniform solid sheet. The light from white balls would scatter in all directions, including down anywhere that is not directly under a ball.

Also, the carbon that turns them black helps protect the plastic from degrading.

[SolutionisSolidarity]

56. Interesting. Thanks!

[HFRN]

51. or simply do nothing and have the mirror effect of the water reflect it nt

[PowerToThePeople]

6. Hmm. Pacific gyre comes to mind

Stopping evaporation is beneficial.

[msongs]

9. the laws of unintended consequences always apply nt

[jeff47]

47. These have been used for about 10 years in other reservoirs around LA.

There's not a lot of room left for a surprise.

[Buns_of_Fire]

11. Do not ask what Shade Balls can do for you...

ask what you can do for Shade Balls. (Hey, that's kinda catchy! )

[Agschmid]

13. And what would you do with Shade Balls?

Inquiring minds want to know...

However I retain the right to retract this question if it goes horribly wrong.

[Buns_of_Fire]

15. I don't want you to have to retract the question,

so I will NOT answer with the first response that came to mind.*


*Other than to mention that it involved a lifeguard stand, a quart of ice cream, and a sweaty horse.

[Agschmid]

16. Oh my...

Hopefully that lifeguard was hot

[tclambert]

20. Has any rock group named themselves "Shade Balls" yet?

They deserve a song at least.

The balls look to be about softball sized. 96 million shade balls at $0.36 each comes out to about $35 million.

[Agschmid]

24. They look like the same balls you'd find at IKEA in smälland.

Hopefully they got washed first!

[lunatica]

21. Maybe they'll use white balls to make up for the lack of ice at the North and South Poles.

the newly exposed dark water is absorbing heat which is melting the ice. If they fill the gaps with white balls they'll reflect the heat back.

It may become that drastic...

[Spitfire of ATJ]

26. I googled "black balls pool" and got just what you thought....

Made you look.

[Agschmid]

28. Yes you did... Even before the edit.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

32. See? There's that dirty mind around here again.

[lonestarnot]

30. So if it doesn't evaporate, how do clouds form to make more?

[Spitfire of ATJ]

54. From the steam coming out of conservative's ears over,....well,...everything.

[jeff47]

58. It's a reservoir. It's not that big.

The amount of water that evaporates off this is negligible compared to all the water evaporating off the Pacific Ocean right next door.

[alcibiades_mystery]

33. Throwing Shade at a Ball

[Agschmid]

34. Yup! Yikes!

[Rainngirl]

35. Jeez, I hope

they're BPA free!

[panader0]

49. This was my first thought.

Black plastic balls floating on your drinking water, probably heating up to over 100 degrees.
Thank goodness I have a well.

[Basic LA]

36. Just thought of something.

Can you imagine those trailer doors breaking open on the freeway?!

[Agschmid]

43. I googled it, so far the balls have been well taken care of.

At least when it comes to transportation...

[pansypoo53219]

48. why aren't they white? or PALE.

[jeff47]

57. That would allow algae to grow.

Light would reflect off the balls in nearly every direction, including into the water except directly under the center of a ball. That light would allow algae to grow.

Also, the carbon that turns them black helps protect the plastic from UV.

[Yavin4]

59. Pat Buchanan is that you? n/t

Just a joke.

[Bunkalup]

50. Money that should have made it into the Be Water Wise Program.

Would have been much better spent than dumping a bunch of plastic into our drinking water. What a bad idea, could have subsidized more lawn removals....

[Liberal_in_LA]

53. wow

[Flying Squirrel]

60. Would this be a good idea for a swimming pool?

I live in a cooler climate so I want the sun to heat up the pool. Would these balls cool the water at the same time as they prevented evaporation?