1
00:00:00,239 --> 00:00:03,406
(shade balls rolling)

2
00:00:04,290 --> 00:00:06,880
- These are shade balls.

3
00:00:06,880 --> 00:00:09,130
They're being dumped
into this water reservoir

4
00:00:09,130 --> 00:00:10,910
in Los Angeles.

5
00:00:10,910 --> 00:00:13,010
And contrary to what you may have heard,

6
00:00:13,010 --> 00:00:16,633
their main purpose is not
to reduce evaporation.

7
00:00:17,730 --> 00:00:20,170
So what are they really for?

8
00:00:20,170 --> 00:00:23,000
To find out, I'm visiting
the largest collection

9
00:00:23,000 --> 00:00:24,821
of these balls anywhere on earth,

10
00:00:24,821 --> 00:00:25,654
What?

11
00:00:25,654 --> 00:00:26,487
at LA Reservoir.

12
00:00:27,490 --> 00:00:30,240
(tranquil music)

13
00:00:32,650 --> 00:00:34,550
96 million shade balls.

14
00:00:34,550 --> 00:00:35,483
- [Man 1] That's correct.

15
00:00:35,483 --> 00:00:36,780
(laughing)

16
00:00:36,780 --> 00:00:38,063
- 96 million.

17
00:00:39,120 --> 00:00:41,517
It's very rare to for you to
see 96 million of anything.

18
00:00:41,517 --> 00:00:42,350
- [Man 1] Yeah.

19
00:00:42,350 --> 00:00:43,183
(laughing)

20
00:00:43,183 --> 00:00:45,460
- This is your life vest which
you are required to wear.

21
00:00:45,460 --> 00:00:46,370
- All right.

22
00:00:46,370 --> 00:00:49,303
- Throw a leg over and
climb on in any way you can.

23
00:00:49,303 --> 00:00:51,374
(tranquil music)

24
00:00:51,374 --> 00:00:52,207
There you go.

25
00:00:52,207 --> 00:00:54,020
- [Narrator] Thank you.

26
00:00:54,020 --> 00:00:57,280
Looking at this, I had so many questions.

27
00:00:57,280 --> 00:00:59,110
Like, why are they black?

28
00:00:59,110 --> 00:01:01,740
Are they safe to have in drinking water?

29
00:01:01,740 --> 00:01:03,400
How much do they cost?

30
00:01:03,400 --> 00:01:05,735
Do they actually reduce evaporation?

31
00:01:05,735 --> 00:01:09,203
And, what is their real purpose?

32
00:01:09,203 --> 00:01:12,970
(boat engine roaring)

33
00:01:12,970 --> 00:01:14,560
Is that hard to drive in shade balls?

34
00:01:14,560 --> 00:01:15,570
- It is very hard.

35
00:01:15,570 --> 00:01:16,765
- Why is that?

36
00:01:16,765 --> 00:01:18,017
- 'Cause...

37
00:01:18,017 --> 00:01:19,850
(boat engine drowns James voice)

38
00:01:19,850 --> 00:01:22,500
- These are actually
partially filled with water,

39
00:01:22,500 --> 00:01:24,810
and the reason they are
filled with water is that,

40
00:01:24,810 --> 00:01:26,930
at LA Reservoir we have
some really high winds

41
00:01:26,930 --> 00:01:29,660
and so, you know, if we didn't
put water into these things,

42
00:01:29,660 --> 00:01:31,750
there would be balls down
bouncing on the 5 Freeway,

43
00:01:31,750 --> 00:01:33,630
people drive down, they'd
be all over the place.

44
00:01:33,630 --> 00:01:36,210
So, these keep the balls in the reservoir

45
00:01:36,210 --> 00:01:37,590
and if they do start to roll,

46
00:01:37,590 --> 00:01:40,120
they kind of wobble because
the water makes them uneven.

47
00:01:40,120 --> 00:01:41,770
- [Narrator] But that
makes them significantly

48
00:01:41,770 --> 00:01:43,740
more difficult to push out of the way.

49
00:01:43,740 --> 00:01:46,070
Especially, when they form close packed

50
00:01:46,070 --> 00:01:48,280
crystal-like structures.

51
00:01:48,280 --> 00:01:50,880
Behind the boat, the balls
quickly come together

52
00:01:50,880 --> 00:01:52,470
in our wake.

53
00:01:52,470 --> 00:01:56,474
And some close to the motor
are pulled along with the boat.

54
00:01:56,474 --> 00:01:59,724
(boat engine stopping)

55
00:02:01,950 --> 00:02:02,783
Wow!

56
00:02:04,786 --> 00:02:07,459
(wind blowing)

57
00:02:07,459 --> 00:02:08,539
(laughing)

58
00:02:08,539 --> 00:02:11,550
What did you think, the
first time they suggested

59
00:02:11,550 --> 00:02:13,683
doing this or when it first came in?

60
00:02:14,670 --> 00:02:16,890
- Yeah, it was a little out there.

61
00:02:16,890 --> 00:02:18,210
- [Narrator] Did you think they were nuts?

62
00:02:18,210 --> 00:02:20,294
- No, not nuts.

63
00:02:20,294 --> 00:02:22,710
- [Narrator] Well, it
just, it like looks absurd.

64
00:02:22,710 --> 00:02:25,000
It's like we're in the
world's biggest ball pit.

65
00:02:25,000 --> 00:02:26,170
- Right, yeah, that's what it looks like.

66
00:02:26,170 --> 00:02:28,110
Yeah, you can't tell by standing here

67
00:02:28,110 --> 00:02:29,950
that we are actually floating

68
00:02:29,950 --> 00:02:32,394
over, I think it's probably,

69
00:02:32,394 --> 00:02:37,030
40 feet right here, 40,
50 feet deep below us,

70
00:02:37,030 --> 00:02:38,903
and you can't even seen any water.

71
00:02:40,380 --> 00:02:41,828
You'd think it was a joke, right?

72
00:02:41,828 --> 00:02:42,750
(laughing)

73
00:02:42,750 --> 00:02:44,087
If you didn't know, you'd go like,

74
00:02:44,087 --> 00:02:45,260
"No you're not, that's

75
00:02:45,260 --> 00:02:46,391
(laughing)

76
00:02:46,391 --> 00:02:48,130
a green screen or something, right?

77
00:02:48,130 --> 00:02:48,963
Yeah, its fake."

78
00:02:48,963 --> 00:02:52,260
- So like, when I switch
on my tap at home,

79
00:02:52,260 --> 00:02:53,125
is the water coming from here?

80
00:02:53,125 --> 00:02:54,375
- [Hellen] Yes.

81
00:02:55,220 --> 00:02:56,779
- Sometimes or always?

82
00:02:56,779 --> 00:02:57,612
- [Hellen] Yes, most of the time.

83
00:02:57,612 --> 00:02:58,445
- Most of the time?

84
00:02:58,445 --> 00:02:59,278
- [Hellen] Yes.

85
00:02:59,278 --> 00:03:00,111
- Most of the time the
water is coming from here.

86
00:03:00,111 --> 00:03:00,944
- [Hellen] Correct, yes.

87
00:03:00,944 --> 00:03:01,777
- Absolutely nuts.

88
00:03:01,777 --> 00:03:05,600
So why is LA Reservoir
covered in shade balls?

89
00:03:05,600 --> 00:03:08,220
Well, the the problem
all started with Bromide.

90
00:03:08,220 --> 00:03:10,840
- Bromide is a naturally
occurring substance.

91
00:03:10,840 --> 00:03:12,820
It's associated with salt water

92
00:03:12,820 --> 00:03:16,870
and so normally places
like California Aqueduct,

93
00:03:16,870 --> 00:03:18,540
that comes down from the Delta.

94
00:03:18,540 --> 00:03:19,970
You get some some salt water intrusions,

95
00:03:19,970 --> 00:03:21,510
so you have some Bromide in the water.

96
00:03:21,510 --> 00:03:24,623
Bromide's harmless and it's
almost impossible to remove.

97
00:03:24,623 --> 00:03:27,920
But, when you disinfect
the water with Ozone,

98
00:03:27,920 --> 00:03:30,440
that Bromide becomes Bromate.

99
00:03:30,440 --> 00:03:31,750
And Bromate is carcinogenic.

100
00:03:31,750 --> 00:03:35,010
And so around the year
2000 they wrote regulations

101
00:03:35,010 --> 00:03:35,960
regulating Bromate.

102
00:03:35,960 --> 00:03:37,760
And the regulation basically said,

103
00:03:37,760 --> 00:03:40,110
if you have a treatment
plant that uses Ozone,

104
00:03:40,110 --> 00:03:42,870
then you have to watch
your Bromate formation.

105
00:03:42,870 --> 00:03:44,080
Be careful not to form too much.

106
00:03:44,080 --> 00:03:46,220
So, the only places we
ever measured Bromate

107
00:03:46,220 --> 00:03:47,550
was at our filter plant.

108
00:03:47,550 --> 00:03:49,200
- [Narrator] And the results
were always within the

109
00:03:49,200 --> 00:03:52,480
10 micrograms per liter
limit set by regulators.

110
00:03:52,480 --> 00:03:54,350
So they were confused when they got a call

111
00:03:54,350 --> 00:03:57,400
from one of their customers,
a beverage company in LA.

112
00:03:57,400 --> 00:03:59,230
- They said, "We have
some really high levels

113
00:03:59,230 --> 00:04:01,240
of Bromate showing up,
are you aware of this?"

114
00:04:01,240 --> 00:04:03,670
And we said, "Well, we
don't show anything."

115
00:04:03,670 --> 00:04:05,180
- [Narrator] But between
the filtration plant

116
00:04:05,180 --> 00:04:07,580
and the customer was the reservoir.

117
00:04:07,580 --> 00:04:09,730
So they did some tests.

118
00:04:09,730 --> 00:04:11,130
- Almost immediately upon coming

119
00:04:11,130 --> 00:04:12,630
into to this open reservoir,

120
00:04:12,630 --> 00:04:14,600
the Bromate levels jumped.

121
00:04:14,600 --> 00:04:17,540
It turned out that Bromide with Chlorine,

122
00:04:17,540 --> 00:04:18,959
which was supposed to be safe,

123
00:04:18,959 --> 00:04:21,279
in bright sunlight formed Bromate

124
00:04:21,279 --> 00:04:23,050
even more than Ozone did.

125
00:04:23,050 --> 00:04:25,743
And so we made the unfortunate
scientific discovery

126
00:04:25,743 --> 00:04:29,010
that actually was not part
of any regulatory scheme.

127
00:04:29,010 --> 00:04:31,400
And so, here we are at the reservoir,

128
00:04:31,400 --> 00:04:34,520
we have a water source that's
got Bromide in it, harmless,

129
00:04:34,520 --> 00:04:37,120
we have chlorine, we have to
have to disinfect the water

130
00:04:37,120 --> 00:04:39,110
and we have sunlight because it's open.

131
00:04:39,110 --> 00:04:40,730
The only choice we have
is to remove sunlight.

132
00:04:40,730 --> 00:04:42,660
So, we looked at all sorts of things.

133
00:04:42,660 --> 00:04:45,760
We looked at floating
tarps across the water,

134
00:04:45,760 --> 00:04:47,350
and normally, you put a
floating cover on the water

135
00:04:47,350 --> 00:04:49,540
but that's a multi-year project.

136
00:04:49,540 --> 00:04:50,970
And so we said, "Well, can we manufacture

137
00:04:50,970 --> 00:04:54,000
these kind of trampoline
with poly-like PVC pipe?"

138
00:04:54,000 --> 00:04:55,750
And we said, "Well, they'll
just gonna become bird perches

139
00:04:55,750 --> 00:04:57,587
and we'll have a big
water quality problem."

140
00:04:57,587 --> 00:05:01,410
Then we knew we had
high-density polyethylene pipe,

141
00:05:01,410 --> 00:05:03,080
which is used in the water industry,

142
00:05:03,080 --> 00:05:04,920
and we know that it floats.

143
00:05:04,920 --> 00:05:06,110
We at one point thought about

144
00:05:06,110 --> 00:05:08,140
can we get float a pile of
pipe across the surface.

145
00:05:08,140 --> 00:05:10,710
Well, that's hard to do and very expensive

146
00:05:10,710 --> 00:05:12,150
'cause it's a lot of material.

147
00:05:12,150 --> 00:05:12,983
So maybe we can take some pipe

148
00:05:12,983 --> 00:05:14,270
and we can run it through a chipper

149
00:05:14,270 --> 00:05:16,510
and we can make a debris
field across the surface,

150
00:05:16,510 --> 00:05:18,890
like the back corner of a lake somewhere.

151
00:05:18,890 --> 00:05:21,190
But, then you have all
this mushy, warm water

152
00:05:21,190 --> 00:05:22,570
with plastic floating on the top

153
00:05:22,570 --> 00:05:24,440
and that however sounds like a Petri dish.

154
00:05:24,440 --> 00:05:26,630
And so low and behold, Dr. Bryan White,

155
00:05:26,630 --> 00:05:29,924
did some research and
he found the shade ball.

156
00:05:29,924 --> 00:05:31,690
(tranquil music)

157
00:05:31,690 --> 00:05:33,660
- [Narrator] Except they
weren't called shade balls

158
00:05:33,660 --> 00:05:34,536
at the time.

159
00:05:34,536 --> 00:05:36,010
(tranquil music)

160
00:05:36,010 --> 00:05:39,210
- This product existed and
they were called bird balls

161
00:05:39,210 --> 00:05:42,940
and they used it on ponds
that had mine tailings,

162
00:05:42,940 --> 00:05:45,620
where they didn't want waterfowl
to go in and get poisoned.

163
00:05:45,620 --> 00:05:47,868
And also around airports
where there are ponds

164
00:05:47,868 --> 00:05:49,520
and they want to keep the waterfowl off

165
00:05:49,520 --> 00:05:52,077
so they didn't take off
and get into jet engines.

166
00:05:52,077 --> 00:05:54,768
(airplane engine roaring)

167
00:05:54,768 --> 00:05:56,410
You know they have actually
done wind tunnel testing

168
00:05:56,410 --> 00:05:59,451
and they blew, you know,
50, 60 mile of winds across

169
00:05:59,451 --> 00:06:01,000
so they could see how they'd behave.

170
00:06:01,000 --> 00:06:03,270
But, they were really made
to deter birds and wildlife

171
00:06:03,270 --> 00:06:04,460
from sitting on the water.

172
00:06:04,460 --> 00:06:07,010
- [Narrator] Did there used
to be birds landing here more?

173
00:06:07,010 --> 00:06:07,843
- Absolutely, yes.

174
00:06:07,843 --> 00:06:08,676
- [Narrator] Yeah?

175
00:06:08,676 --> 00:06:09,509
- Yeah.

176
00:06:09,509 --> 00:06:10,342
Once we deployed these balls,

177
00:06:10,342 --> 00:06:11,710
all the birds were gone.

178
00:06:11,710 --> 00:06:13,770
They used to just hangout, right?

179
00:06:13,770 --> 00:06:14,950
Loiter at the curbs.

180
00:06:14,950 --> 00:06:17,342
- Yeah, they'd be all
over the top of the dam.

181
00:06:17,342 --> 00:06:18,620
- [Hellen] You could see
birds dropping everywhere.

182
00:06:18,620 --> 00:06:20,640
- [James] They'd be down
at the outlet tower,

183
00:06:20,640 --> 00:06:21,630
they'd be everywhere.

184
00:06:21,630 --> 00:06:24,110
We don't get 'em anymore like we used to.

185
00:06:24,110 --> 00:06:25,780
- [Narrator] But before
being added to the reservoir,

186
00:06:25,780 --> 00:06:27,930
the shade balls had to be tested.

187
00:06:27,930 --> 00:06:30,720
Would they actually reduce
the formation of Bromate?

188
00:06:30,720 --> 00:06:32,676
- And we bought three kiddie pools,

189
00:06:32,676 --> 00:06:34,560
three little inflatable kiddie pools.

190
00:06:34,560 --> 00:06:36,550
And we filled them all
with the reservoir water.

191
00:06:36,550 --> 00:06:37,973
One was in the sunlight,
one we put a tarp on

192
00:06:37,973 --> 00:06:40,290
and one put shade balls on.

193
00:06:40,290 --> 00:06:42,440
And amazingly, the shade balls knocked out

194
00:06:42,440 --> 00:06:44,230
the problem immediately.

195
00:06:44,230 --> 00:06:46,070
- [Narrator] So the reason
shade balls are black

196
00:06:46,070 --> 00:06:48,240
is to block all light
from reaching the water

197
00:06:48,240 --> 00:06:50,540
and triggering the Bromate reaction.

198
00:06:50,540 --> 00:06:52,040
The black pigment is also safe

199
00:06:52,040 --> 00:06:53,380
for contact with drinking water

200
00:06:53,380 --> 00:06:57,140
and it's stable even exposed
to the elements for years.

201
00:06:57,140 --> 00:06:59,200
- They're black for a reason so, you know,

202
00:06:59,200 --> 00:07:01,140
they're made out of a
high-density polyethylene.

203
00:07:01,140 --> 00:07:02,560
It's the same material that

204
00:07:02,560 --> 00:07:04,560
like a gallon milk jug is made out of.

205
00:07:04,560 --> 00:07:06,150
It's a food grade plastic

206
00:07:06,150 --> 00:07:08,190
and they would be clear
like a milk carton,

207
00:07:08,190 --> 00:07:10,290
except that they wouldn't last in the sun.

208
00:07:10,290 --> 00:07:12,950
And so, they have a material
called carbon black in them

209
00:07:12,950 --> 00:07:15,230
and that's what makes the plastic last

210
00:07:15,230 --> 00:07:16,810
for at least 10 years out in the sun.

211
00:07:16,810 --> 00:07:17,956
We did test to see

212
00:07:17,956 --> 00:07:19,890
if there is any other colors we could use.

213
00:07:19,890 --> 00:07:22,090
So we actually had the company make

214
00:07:22,090 --> 00:07:23,200
three different shades of blue,

215
00:07:23,200 --> 00:07:25,397
but the dyes were so unstable they said,

216
00:07:25,397 --> 00:07:27,580
"We can't guarantee it's
gonna last more than a year."

217
00:07:27,580 --> 00:07:29,147
And so, it's that carbon black

218
00:07:29,147 --> 00:07:31,320
that's the magic powder in this

219
00:07:31,320 --> 00:07:33,670
that really makes this
product last in the sunlight.

220
00:07:33,670 --> 00:07:35,700
One of the concerns
that people raised to me

221
00:07:35,700 --> 00:07:37,900
when we put first these on, it was that,

222
00:07:37,900 --> 00:07:40,370
are they gonna get hot and
then bleach the material out?

223
00:07:40,370 --> 00:07:41,203
And they don't.

224
00:07:41,203 --> 00:07:42,150
They're totally inert.

225
00:07:42,150 --> 00:07:43,560
I mean, theoretically, you could cut off

226
00:07:43,560 --> 00:07:45,360
a piece of this ball
and you could chew it,

227
00:07:45,360 --> 00:07:46,280
no harm comes to you.

228
00:07:46,280 --> 00:07:48,260
This is totally food grade,

229
00:07:48,260 --> 00:07:49,473
nothing wrong with it whatsoever.

230
00:07:49,473 --> 00:07:51,196
- [Narrator] What's it like
driving through these things?

231
00:07:51,196 --> 00:07:52,710
- It's difficult.

232
00:07:52,710 --> 00:07:54,625
As you can see we've
been sitting here for,

233
00:07:54,625 --> 00:07:56,790
well, I don't know how
long, quite a while,

234
00:07:56,790 --> 00:07:59,080
and there's a breeze and we haven't moved.

235
00:07:59,080 --> 00:08:00,040
I mean anybody that knows,

236
00:08:00,040 --> 00:08:01,250
that's been on a boat in a lake,

237
00:08:01,250 --> 00:08:02,960
if there's a slight breeze
and you're on a boat,

238
00:08:02,960 --> 00:08:04,410
you're drifting, right?

239
00:08:04,410 --> 00:08:05,243
Not here.

240
00:08:05,243 --> 00:08:07,770
This thing, they're just stable.

241
00:08:07,770 --> 00:08:09,270
They're (indistinct)

242
00:08:09,270 --> 00:08:11,340
It's interesting when
you try to pilot the boat

243
00:08:11,340 --> 00:08:12,900
through these things, its difficult.

244
00:08:12,900 --> 00:08:13,950
- [Narrator] It's like
driving through peanut butter

245
00:08:13,950 --> 00:08:14,783
or something?

246
00:08:14,783 --> 00:08:16,030
- Or something, I guess, yeah.

247
00:08:16,030 --> 00:08:17,439
Not that I've ever done that but...

248
00:08:17,439 --> 00:08:18,560
(laughing)

249
00:08:18,560 --> 00:08:20,250
- [Narrator] Blocking
sunlight from the reservoir

250
00:08:20,250 --> 00:08:22,620
also provided additional benefits.

251
00:08:22,620 --> 00:08:24,370
- You know, one of the reasons
we put so much Chlorine

252
00:08:24,370 --> 00:08:25,670
was to control the algae growth.

253
00:08:25,670 --> 00:08:27,740
But sometimes you still
couldn't control it.

254
00:08:27,740 --> 00:08:30,300
There were times years ago, in the summer,

255
00:08:30,300 --> 00:08:32,230
where if we had an algae outbreak,

256
00:08:32,230 --> 00:08:34,240
you might actually, if
you filled a bath tub up,

257
00:08:34,240 --> 00:08:35,720
you might have a slight tinge of green.

258
00:08:35,720 --> 00:08:37,220
I mean, it maybe healthy to drink,

259
00:08:37,220 --> 00:08:39,059
but it might have a slight
tinge of green from the algae.

260
00:08:39,059 --> 00:08:39,892
- [Narrator] You'd see a bit of algae.

261
00:08:39,893 --> 00:08:41,409
- Yeah, and it's just
discoloring the water.

262
00:08:41,409 --> 00:08:42,379
That no longer occurs.

263
00:08:42,380 --> 00:08:44,710
So, with the sunlight gone,

264
00:08:44,710 --> 00:08:46,170
the algae problem is gone.

265
00:08:46,170 --> 00:08:47,440
We put in, basically, no Chlorine.

266
00:08:47,440 --> 00:08:49,470
We've only had a few times
since the shade balls

267
00:08:49,470 --> 00:08:50,303
have been on LA Reservoir,

268
00:08:50,303 --> 00:08:51,880
that we've added any Chlorine at all.

269
00:08:51,880 --> 00:08:53,250
And we used to do half the Chlorine

270
00:08:53,250 --> 00:08:54,510
and the whole water system

271
00:08:54,510 --> 00:08:57,140
went into that reservoir
just to control algae growth.

272
00:08:57,140 --> 00:09:00,320
- [Narrator] But the big
concern I had was evaporation.

273
00:09:00,320 --> 00:09:02,610
When I first heard about
these black plastic balls

274
00:09:02,610 --> 00:09:05,840
reducing evaporation, it
didn't seem to make any sense.

275
00:09:05,840 --> 00:09:07,860
I mean, wouldn't they absorb more energy

276
00:09:07,860 --> 00:09:11,267
and so heat up the water,
leading to faster evaporation?

277
00:09:11,267 --> 00:09:13,200
It turns out the answer is, no,

278
00:09:13,200 --> 00:09:15,070
for a number of reasons.

279
00:09:15,070 --> 00:09:17,820
In an open reservoir, there
is more exposed surface area

280
00:09:17,820 --> 00:09:20,470
where water molecules
can escape into the air.

281
00:09:20,470 --> 00:09:23,130
Plus, there is greater air
flow over the water's surface

282
00:09:23,130 --> 00:09:25,390
continually removing
the layer of moist air

283
00:09:25,390 --> 00:09:29,080
and replacing it with dryer
air, increasing evaporation.

284
00:09:29,080 --> 00:09:31,370
Now the shade balls do absorb more energy

285
00:09:31,370 --> 00:09:32,960
and get hotter on top,

286
00:09:32,960 --> 00:09:35,320
but the bottom of the balls stays cool.

287
00:09:35,320 --> 00:09:37,050
Plus the balls mostly contain air,

288
00:09:37,050 --> 00:09:38,740
which is a good thermal insulator

289
00:09:38,740 --> 00:09:40,720
and so not much of the heat is transferred

290
00:09:40,720 --> 00:09:41,720
through to the water.

291
00:09:41,720 --> 00:09:43,243
- It's almost like a double-paned window,

292
00:09:43,243 --> 00:09:44,610
you know, you get that air gap in there

293
00:09:44,610 --> 00:09:46,200
and the air acts as an insulator,

294
00:09:46,200 --> 00:09:48,140
and so the sun never hits the water.

295
00:09:48,140 --> 00:09:49,540
Matter of fact, we've actually
done some measurements

296
00:09:49,540 --> 00:09:51,630
and it's actually cooler
under the shade balls,

297
00:09:51,630 --> 00:09:52,760
even though they're black,

298
00:09:52,760 --> 00:09:53,880
than it is without the balls,

299
00:09:53,880 --> 00:09:54,722
just with the sun itself.

300
00:09:54,722 --> 00:09:55,555
- [Narrator] Huh?

301
00:09:55,555 --> 00:09:56,520
- [Marty] So, the balls
actually have a slight

302
00:09:56,520 --> 00:09:57,353
cooling effect.

303
00:09:57,353 --> 00:09:58,670
- [Narrator] So, for all of these reasons,

304
00:09:58,670 --> 00:10:02,380
shade balls reduce
evaporation by 80 to 90%.

305
00:10:02,380 --> 00:10:03,720
That's pretty significant

306
00:10:03,720 --> 00:10:06,120
for a dry climate like Los Angeles.

307
00:10:06,120 --> 00:10:07,640
- [Narrator] How much do they cost?

308
00:10:07,640 --> 00:10:10,600
- These run about, around three for $1.

309
00:10:10,600 --> 00:10:12,730
I think we paid 33, 34 cents a piece,

310
00:10:12,730 --> 00:10:13,946
something in that range.

311
00:10:13,946 --> 00:10:16,160
And they actually will
have a salvage value,

312
00:10:16,160 --> 00:10:18,530
not that much, but if
we go to remove them,

313
00:10:18,530 --> 00:10:20,193
they are recyclable material.

314
00:10:21,530 --> 00:10:24,630
But we figured that over
the life of the balls,

315
00:10:24,630 --> 00:10:27,340
between the savings in chlorination,

316
00:10:27,340 --> 00:10:28,550
is chemical savings,

317
00:10:28,550 --> 00:10:30,350
and the savings in evaporation,

318
00:10:30,350 --> 00:10:32,170
probably at least half
the cost of the balls

319
00:10:32,170 --> 00:10:33,224
will be paid for.

320
00:10:33,224 --> 00:10:35,020
I mean, of course, the
water quality benefit

321
00:10:35,020 --> 00:10:36,040
is immeasurable,

322
00:10:36,040 --> 00:10:38,030
but even the balls
themselves will save money

323
00:10:38,030 --> 00:10:39,197
doing what they do.

324
00:10:39,197 --> 00:10:42,168
- [Narrator] Do you ever bring
people out here for tours?

325
00:10:42,168 --> 00:10:43,270
- You're the first one.

326
00:10:43,270 --> 00:10:44,103
(laughing)

327
00:10:44,103 --> 00:10:44,936
- [Narrator] Why am I the
first one to get to go

328
00:10:44,936 --> 00:10:45,769
on a tour here?

329
00:10:45,769 --> 00:10:48,220
- To get this level of
detailed of tour, yes.

330
00:10:48,220 --> 00:10:49,440
- [Narrator] This is so cool!

331
00:10:49,440 --> 00:10:52,230
I've heard something
about hexagonal balls,

332
00:10:52,230 --> 00:10:53,850
have you heard anything
about hexagonal balls?

333
00:10:53,850 --> 00:10:54,683
- Oh, my gosh!

334
00:10:54,683 --> 00:10:56,400
So, we have the shade
balls, and of course,

335
00:10:56,400 --> 00:10:58,750
everyone in the world came
up with another product.

336
00:10:58,750 --> 00:11:01,580
I have ones I call se
ravioli, it's a small hex.

337
00:11:01,580 --> 00:11:04,010
We've got large hexes, we
have all sorts of pieces.

338
00:11:04,010 --> 00:11:05,440
And people said, "Well,
they lock together."

339
00:11:05,440 --> 00:11:07,527
But the problem is, they
need to not stack up

340
00:11:07,527 --> 00:11:09,410
and they need to not sit on
the bank of the reservoir.

341
00:11:09,410 --> 00:11:10,970
The reservoir is gonna go up and down.

342
00:11:10,970 --> 00:11:13,160
And so it was really the shape of the ball

343
00:11:13,160 --> 00:11:16,870
that makes them not perch on the side

344
00:11:16,870 --> 00:11:18,520
because we need to make sure that these,

345
00:11:18,520 --> 00:11:19,770
when the water goes up and down,

346
00:11:19,770 --> 00:11:21,207
that they spread up, or they, you know,

347
00:11:21,207 --> 00:11:23,480
either spread out completely
to cover the water

348
00:11:23,480 --> 00:11:24,570
as best possible.

349
00:11:24,570 --> 00:11:26,270
- [Narrator] I mean, I just
can't get over what I'm seeing,

350
00:11:26,270 --> 00:11:27,600
it's just so nuts.

351
00:11:27,600 --> 00:11:30,083
- I'm waiting for you to say
it looks like a pool of boba.

352
00:11:30,083 --> 00:11:32,680
(laughing)

353
00:11:32,680 --> 00:11:34,680
- [Narrator] I feel like
that's the line that'll go in,

354
00:11:34,680 --> 00:11:35,920
but you got it.

355
00:11:35,920 --> 00:11:36,753
Like, that is,

356
00:11:37,940 --> 00:11:38,773
that's awesome.

357
00:11:40,620 --> 00:11:41,900
Do you like boba?

358
00:11:41,900 --> 00:11:43,289
- I love boba.

359
00:11:43,289 --> 00:11:44,260
(laughing)

360
00:11:44,260 --> 00:11:45,574
I might get some after this.

361
00:11:45,574 --> 00:11:46,700
(laughing)

362
00:11:46,700 --> 00:11:49,208
(techno sound)

363
00:11:49,208 --> 00:11:52,375
(boat engine roaring)