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?

There’s no problem the government can’t make worse.

Karsten

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.

I wonder if this is going to become a tourist attraction…

Anybody else picture 200,000 black dudes teabagging the reservoire?

Do you by any chance attend my local high school?

Bromine needs shielding from UV light