With the seemingly never-ending drought in California, officials are trying out a new technique in Los Angeles that could help save the depleting water supply.
Ninety six million small black plastic balls have been dumped into the Los Angeles Reservoir in an attempt to shield the water from sunlight and reduce evaporation.
The balls float on top of the water and are expected to save the city of angels up to 300 million gallons of water, reported Wired, though over what amount of time was not specified.
The folks at Wired didn’t seem too impressed with the idea, citing the cost effective nature of the idea as the best thing about it.
They will reportedly save the city 300 million gallons of water. At 36 cents a piece, city officials say they’re a steal compared to other water-saving technologies, and the only care that the balls need are the occasional rotation.
Most of central and southern California is experiencing a D4 level drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Over 36 million people are affected by the drought, which has been ongoing for the past several years.
Many residents in California have been forced to ration their water usage, with water restrictions being put in place in light of the drought.
Also connected to the drought are the wildfires in California, which have destroyed thousands of structures and scorched hundreds of square miles of land over the Summer.
While the floating black balls won’t be able to fight the flames, California residents still have some good news to look forward to. Meteorologists are predicting drought relief over the upcoming months due to a strong developing El Niño. This weather pattern is created by unusually warm water temperatures in the eastern pacific, and is typically associated with numerous storms moving through California.
