Why Does the USA Leave These Black Balls in Its Dams?

Los Angeles, USA the most populous and driest one of the cities. That’s why it is trying to take every precaution to protect water resources. One of these is that 96 million euros were poured into the city’s water reservoirs in 2015. black plastic ball was to leave.

So what was the purpose of these balls and did they really work? Who knows maybe in the future Scenes like this in Turkey too We’ll see, anyway, let’s get back to our topic and explain what these balls are exactly:

Shade balls are designed to prevent water evaporation and chemical reactions.

Los Angeles, annual average Receiving 378 mm of rainfall a city. This is the driest region of Turkey. Even from the Southeastern Anatolia Region less. That’s why the city has to bring water from distant places to meet its water needs. However, some of this water is Due to the warm and sunny climate evaporates in reservoirs. This causes both water loss and cost.

To prevent this, the Los Angeles Water and Power Department (LASED) developed a method to reduce evaporation by shading the water surface. This method is water 96 million black plastic balls It was just about letting go. These balls“shadow balls” It was named and each one is 10 centimeters in diameter and approximately 240 to 260 grams It weighed. The inside of the balls was filled with water so that they would not be blown away by the wind.

Another benefit of the shade balls was to prevent chemical reactions by preventing water from coming into contact with sunlight.

In particular, a substance called chloramine is exposed to sunlight. bromate, a carcinogenic substance could create. This endangered the quality and safety of the water. Thanks to shadow balls, this risk has also been reduced. These balls saved water, but environmental impacts controversial.

LASED, shadow balls per year Saving 1.1 billion liters of water claimed to have provided it. This corresponds to approximately 440 Olympic swimming pools. Additionally, the energy and money spent on heating and purifying water also decreased. LASED, shadow The cost of the guns is 34.5 million dollars He stated that it would pay for itself within 10 years.

Not everyone found these black balls very useful.

Some experts say that black balls can heat water and increase evaporation told. Some also say that the balls can wear out over time, releasing microplastic particles into the water, which can may harm living things Put forward.

LASED, on the other hand, argued that these concerns were unfounded and that shadow balls were safe and effective. Themselves, the balls; made of food grade plastic He stated that it was made and did not contain any harmful substances. Also, heating the water is unimportant and Does not affect evaporation He also said.

This method, as a temporary solution is seen and other alternatives are being sought. While shade balls are a step toward solving Los Angeles’ water problem, they may not be enough in the long run. Because the city’s water needs continue to increase and The risk of drought due to climate change is also rising. Therefore, more sustainable and efficient water management methods need to be developed.

One of these methods is recycling water. That is, purifying wastewater and making it reusable. Thus, both protecting water resources and improve water quality quite can be effective. However, there are some difficulties regarding the cost and social acceptance of this method.

Another method is storage of water underground. That is, pumping excess water into natural aquifers underground and taking it back when needed. In this way, water evaporation can be prevented and it can be useful to raise the groundwater level, but this method also technical and legal issues there is.

Firstly At Ivanhoe dam in 2009 This method was also tried in the Los Angeles dam. Although this solution may disturb some experts, it is certain that it offers an effective solution under past conditions. In 2015, Shadow balls have also been removed from all dams except the Los Angeles dam.

This solution implemented by Los Angeles was widely discussed in Turkey at the time, but no steps were taken.

As you know, Türkiye is especially popular during the summer months. It’s like we’re in the middle of the desert It can burn blazingly. In our opinion, it is not unreasonable to resort to such a method, especially in these times when the global climate is changing so much. There has already been a lot of talk about its implementation in our country in the past, but the authorities -as always- Didn’t take it very seriously.

We wouldn’t be surprised if we started to see black balls in the dams in the coming years, but we are not sure if it will have any effect after this time, after all. rain and snow that don’t fall even in winter We can no longer predict whether it will rain in summer and fill the dams.

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