400,000 Black Balls Save L.A. Reservoir From Carcinogen

4 years ago Art & Design

*Update - all images from the awesome Dakota Smith at Curbed. More photos There*
http://inlinethumb20.webshots.com/40595/2544586750103582559S600x600Q85.jpgPhoto:
image (c) Dakota Smith

The Department of Water and Power workers in Los Angeles, as well as local officials and community activists opened a white tub from where they poured 400,000 black colored balls into the water. So, the question is: was this an artwork, some kind of statement or attempt to pollute the water?

http://inlinethumb03.webshots.com/40450/2160162520103582559S600x600Q85.jpgPhoto:
image (c) Dakota Smith

The answer on all fronts is no – absolutely and categorically no. In fact, it is an action intended to protect the quality of L.A. drinking water and preventing it from becoming a health hazard. The water needs to be protected and in the shade because of its composition of bromate and chlorine – if exposed to large amounts of sunlight, it could cause a chemical reaction and in high levels can cause cancer.

Last year, abnormally high levels of bromide were signaled, but specialists claimed that danger levels were low because people had to drink the water for a lifetime - even so, the chances of contracting cancer were minimal.
http://inlinethumb55.webshots.com/40438/2243373600103582559S600x600Q85.jpgPhoto:

image (c) Dakota Smith

After the discovery of bromate, officials began to search for a method to shade the Ivanhoe and Elysian Reservoirs, but all suggested options would need time and a helluva lot of money. Instead, local government followed the advice of a DWP biologist who came with the idea to use these black plastic balls you see in the pictures.

The reservoirs will be covered by 3 million balls for roughly 4 years.Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 Images: 1, 2, 3

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Written by: Vlad Jecan

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Comments

Old Comments

D says

Feb 14th, 2010 at 12am
Is this even real? Maybe it's some sort of super boring rubber duck race...

Grayson says

Jan 5th, 2010 at 12am
I always cover my balls when I'm in the sun.

Legarcia says

Jan 4th, 2010 at 12am
I hope the balls were not made in China.

Audrey says

Dec 9th, 2009 at 12am
Yeah? And what evidence do they have that these plastic balls will cure their cancer water? And for that matter, how on earth does someone deduce that the water will give you cancer? Seems like we're all just looking for ways to kill ourselves these days. Let's launch a couple hundred-thousand pounds of garbage at the moon! It'll cure Arthritis!

GabachoMike says

Sep 4th, 2009 at 12am
Gee, the reservoir has been there - exposed to the sun and smog - for at least 40+ years that i can remember. THIS is what they've come up with? Here's a radical idea: why not attempt to remove the bromate from the water? Whatever happened to using 'activated' charcoal?

fuzzywzhe says

Aug 31st, 2009 at 12am
Enjoy drinking your phylates, LA. There's no problem the government can't make worse.

lebusite says

Aug 28th, 2009 at 12am
Its LA the balls will be stolen within 2 months!

someguy says

Jul 24th, 2009 at 12am
is there a video of this??

Duct Tape Guru says

Jun 20th, 2009 at 12am
Plastic leaching concern is understandable, I thought the same thing. However a Google search clears up the issue, almost as fast as making an ignorant, presumptive comment does. from http://articles.latimes.com/2008/jun/10/local/me-balls10?pg=1 "one of the DWP's biologists, Brian White, suggested "bird balls," commonly used by airports to prevent birds from congregating in wet areas alongside runways. DWP officials and Orange Products, the Allentown, Pa.-based company that produces the balls, said this is the first time a major utility has used the globes to solve a water- quality problem for a drinking supply. White said that Orange Products is the only company in the United States that could manufacture the balls, which are environmentally safe for drinking water and approved by NSF International, a government-sanctioned, nonprofit water quality organization. The balls, which cost 40 cents each, are made of polyethylene. The coating contains carbon. Black is the only color strong enough to deflect ultraviolet rays, said Paul Sachdev, president of Orange Products." from http://www.csslr.org/newsevents/events.php Perhaps the greatest misinformation I have recently seen is the notion that the bird balls heat up and release toxic chemicals into the water. This is just simply not true. Granted, there are many different types of plastics and recent news has focused on certain plastics leaching chemicals. The reason DWP is using the bird balls is because they are the ONLY National Sanitation Foundation (NSF) drinking-water-approved product of its kind on the market. When we discuss NSF approval, it means that this product has been tested precisely to ensure that it does not create the kinds of problems that some are insisting they create. The balls are made of High Density Polyethylene - a long-time water industry product also used for pipelines, and a black version of the same clear product you buy your one gallon container of milk in (look on the bottom for the HDPE label). You will not find any legitimate news findings claiming that HDPE leaches chemicals into drinking water. As a matter of fact, other water agencies have contacted DWP out of recognition that this solution could have application for them as well. The balls are made to survive in a hot, sunlight environment without breaking down, and they are warranted for 10 years - twice the lifetime we are looking for. As to the issue of heating the water, there are two important points. First, there is only a very, very small percentage of reservoir water actually in contact with the surface of the balls. Secondly, the balls are filled with air, which also acts as an insulating layer, much the way double pane windows and attics help keep the heat out of our homes.

Karsten Hinrichs says

Jun 20th, 2009 at 12am
What do they want to shade the lakes for? Didn't they think that the balls are black? They even heat more up so prabably even more water evaporates. Are they trying to save the world, or destraying it even more? What a bullshit solution! Instead of reducing water usage in "lawn culture" and using permaculture principles to solve the worlds problems! Karsten