LA reservoir covered with balls to protect water
LOS ANGELES (AP) - June 12, 2008 Workers on Monday unleashed 400,000 of the hollow, 4-inch
"shade balls" down a slope to cover the surface of the Ivanhoe
Reservoir, which provides water to parts of downtown, central and
south Los Angeles.
Earlier this year, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power
drained two of its six remaining open-air reservoirs because a rare
sunlight-and-chlorine reaction tainted the water with bromate, a
cancer-causing chemical. The amounts were small and didn't violate
federal water regulations, but the water was dumped as a
precaution.
The plastic spheres are "a cost effective method of creating
shade without elaborate construction, parts, labor or
maintenance," the department said in a statement.
The balls are a temporary fix while the city completes an
underground water storage project to replace the open-air
reservoirs within several years.
