This video is strangely therapeutic to watch, and while it looks a bit like some sort of artistic flytipping, it’s actually very important to the L.A. water supply.
The clip shows literally millions of black balls being dumped into Los Angeles’ reservoirs.
Known as ‘shade balls’, they actually play a vital role in protecting the city’s water supply during major droughts in California.
The plastic gadgets help stop the water from evaporating, as well as protecting the water from wildlife pollution. They also help stop toxic chemical reactions that can be caused by the sunlight contaminating the water.
The balls are weighted with water to stop them from blowing away and are expected to last around ten years before needing to be recycled.
L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti said:
By reducing evaporation, these shade balls will conserve 300 million gallons of water each year, instead of just evaporating into the sky. That’s 300 million gallons to fight this drought.
In the grand scheme of things, 30million gallons isn’t a great deal of water, but every little helps.
Shade balls.
Funny to say, mesmerising to watch, and good for the water supply. Great stuff.
