See What California Is Doing with 96 Million Black Balls

Via Fox News

Is a bevy of black balls – 96 million to be exact – a crucial solution in helping California manage its calamitous drought?

On Monday, Los Angeles mayor Eric Garcetti deployed the final 20,000 of the 96 million “shade balls” onto the surface of the city’s 175-acre, Sylmar-based reservoir, completing the final stage of the $34.5 million Los Angeles Department of Water (LADWP) attempt to protect the region’s water quality.

In the midst of California’s historic drought, it takes bold ingenuity to maximize my goals for water conservation," Garcetti said, claiming that the initiative saves taxpayers millions. "This effort is emblematic of the kind of the creative thinking we need to meet those challenges.” 

However, not everyone was so enthusiastic. Nathan Krekula, biologist and operations manager at Wisconsin Diagnostic Laboratory, warned, "I don’t believe that in the long run this provides a good strategy in protecting the water. I believe that this will increase evaporations due to a greater surface area as well as providing a great place for bacteria to have a nice environment to grow protected from UV light that kills it."This system will require greater levels of water treatment that in the long run will require more money to ensure public safety," he said.