A Great Idea
If you looked down on Los Angeles’ largest reservoir, you might think a giant pit of black marbles had swallowed it whole. But those millions of floating balls are no accident—they’re part of a clever solution to a very real problem.
The First Impression
When photos of the “sea of black balls” surfaced online, many assumed it was some kind of art installation. Others joked it looked like a scene from a sci-fi movie. In reality, it’s one of the most unusual public works projects in the U.S.
LA throws 96 million ‘shade balls’ at its water shortage — and it’s mesmerizing | Mashable, Mashable
Meet The Shade Balls
These spheres are called shade balls. They aren’t toys, and they’re not made of rubber—they’re actually crafted from high-density polyethylene (HDPE), a safe, UV-resistant plastic designed to sit in water for years without breaking down.
Harald Bischoff, Wikimedia Commons
The Chemistry Problem
Back in 2008, Los Angeles officials found a serious issue: sunlight was reacting with chlorine and naturally occurring bromide in open reservoirs. That reaction created bromate, a chemical linked to cancer—and the city needed a fix fast…