The Woman behind 96 Million ‘Shade Balls’ that rolled into water reservoirs in Los Angeles

A few weeks ago 96 million plastic balls were dumped into water reservoirs in Los Angeles to preserve water – Clearly desperate times.

While it may sound excessive, California is in a record-breaking drought – four years – and needs to find alternative ways to conserve and protect its water.

Introducing Sydney Chase, Californian resident and manufacturer of shade balls (or conservation balls as she prefers to call them). Sydney Chase left her job in order to manufacture the balls that apparently can save up to 300 million gallons of water each year.

This video of the balls being dumped into the Los Angeles water reservoir has gone viral.

The shade ball 101

Shade balls are four inches in diameter and are coated with a chemical that blocks ultraviolet light. They are hollow, with only some ballast in them so that they don't blow off the water surface in strong winds.

Will they help, or do more harm?

So, you may be wondering how balls of plastic in our water are possibly good for the environment? You're not alone.

While many have erupted with applause for the balls, others are not so convinced, calling the whole thing a huge PR stunt rather than a magic water-saving tactic.

Shade balls have got a number of uses. But the primary concern for the Californian Government is to promote their water conserving abilities, particularly for drinking water. The idea is they will keep water reservoirs intact by preventing evaporation. They're also seeing use on the tailing ponds where miners store contaminated water, to keep birds away from toxic agents, and in wastewater treatment facilities, to keep odors at bay.

The balls can last up to ten years, and afterward can be completely recycled.

That's all great, yet it's hard to know for sure there won't be other side effects, such as chemicals from the balls leaching into the water supply.

Another angle is whether this is the most cost/time effective water saving method.

Grist reports,

"The 300 million gallons a year these plastic balls are supposed to save is really not a whole lot, especially compared to the amount of water used by industry and agriculture. Fracking alone uses 2.14 million gallons of fresh water in California every day, Liboiron writes, and if the agriculture industry cut its water use by only 5 percent, that would save 500 billion gallons in a matter of months."

This infographic from Time magazine explains the balls in more detail.

Should shade balls roll on Down Under?

Australia has certainly had its fair share of shady days. By shady, we mean drought-stricken.

While shade balls might help the drought situation in California (and have been doing so since 2008), apparently it's unlikely they would have a similar effect here.

Adam Lovell (Director of Water Services Association Australia) says that our dams are too big, and the cost of the shade balls (36 cents per ball) would be too high.

However, Lovell believes shade balls could still be used in Australia in smaller dams and ponds, or in very desperate measures.

What do you think? Would you like to see shade balls used in Australia?

Add your comments or #shadeballs jokes below!

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