These Black Plastic Balls Can Save Millions Of Gallons Of Water

In 2008, the Los Angeles Water Department dumped shade balls into a drinking water reservoir. This was done to save 300 million gallons of water a year which otherwise would be lost to evaporation. But this isn’t only reason, it is to prevent sunlight from reaching the water surface and reacting to the chlorine treated water therefore preventing the possible creation of the carcinogen, bromate. Bromate can cause stomach pain, nausea and in high doses, serious damage to the kidneys and nervous system.

The shade balls are four inches, made of polyethylene and hermetically sealed. Since shade balls are black, you must be wondering, why isn’t it white? Black absorbs heat so isn’t it the wrong choice of colour? This was because according to material science, white shade balls will deteriorate at a faster rate. There is a significant decline in the tensile strength within 8 months. However the black shade balls have about 10 years of life span.

Secondly, polyethylene was chosen because among all the type of plastics, it is one of the safest and the least harming towards nature. The balls were also coated with a black carbon colorant that repels ultraviolent light, which can cause plastics and other materials to degrade.

Thankfully, shade balls are also economical. Each ball costs just 36 cents, representing a total savings of roughly $250 million dollars for LA County. This is a new concept and in fact, LA is the first county to use shade balls for this purpose. Although the balls is carbon black which isn’t supposed to be harmful when it leaches, yet even with such precaution, most plastics leaches endocrine which disrupts the animals and human hormone system. The shade balls have been a successful alternative to the extensive construction work required to install a cover which are expensive.