We are not making this up: Ivanhoe Reservoir in Silver Lake covered in little black plastic balls *

Can you hear the screaming from where you are? That's Silver Lake residents with a view of the water reacting as DWP workers roll millions of little plastic balls down the banks and into the reservoir, an unconventional way to cover up the water to keep more cancer-linked bromate from forming.

The presence of bromate was the whole reason the Silver Lake reservoir was drained earlier this year.

A full story about the balls and the bromate and the future of the man-made lakes from our own hard-working Francisco Vara-Orta is on the way. In the meantime, feel free to stare at these pix and marvel at the strange world in which we live.

Anyone else having Chuck E. Cheese/Ikea flashbacks?

--Veronique de Turenne

Photos: Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times

*A previous version of this post did not include the words "Ivanhoe Reservoir".

Comments

[Red]

And what kinds of harmful chemicals are residing in all of those PLASTIC balls that will LEACH into the drinking water when the SUN shines on them and makes them HOT???? Idiots.

[Natalie]

It takes some real balls to do something like fight cancer.

[crystal flower]

Wouldn't the black balls just make the water warmer and more hospitable to other growing junk (weeds, algae etc)?

[gabriel]

From Wikipedia:

"Bromate is also formed in electrochemical processes, such as formation of hypochlorite ion used in municipal water processes, when bromide ion is present. Additionally bromate ion is produced when chlorine dioxide is used in water, the bromide ion is present, and the water is exposed to sunlight.

This reaction occurs in water systems where bromide is dissolved in water and ozone is used to disinfect the water, especially under high pressures. This reaction is undesirable because bromate is a suspected carcinogen."

Did you catch the part about how it's also a byproduct of the municipal water processes???

My experience has led me to believe that American engineers tend to 'patch' things when problems arise, whereas Europeans will re-think and re-design an entire system to solve a problem. I'm disappointed that we are not targeting the bromate problem at the source, but instead adding a patch... in this case, millions of round black ones.

[dana]

wait - wasn't the ivanhoe reservoir going to be filled with the balls? it's right next to the silver lake reservoir but it's not silver lake! and it's much, much smaller in size. bad reporting or change in dwp plans?

[gavinC]

This is doing chemistry, altering solution, in a beaker the size of a lake. Really scaling up.

[Super90]

I'm with Red. What type of plastic are they using? What possible chemicals could leach out of the balls when the sun heats them up? Any BPA? And why didn't they use white or silver balls? And are they aware that balls won't do the job of blocking all the sunlight. So what they're shooting for is merely less cancer-causing bromate? All in all, this seem pretty stupid.

[Lamb Cannon]

I WANT THIS JOB!

[Champo]

I wonder how much a black ball would sell for on online auction?

[Ed]

Next thing you know, James Cameron will start filming a movie at the bottom of the reservoir.

[Wisecat Willis]

the balls shoulda been SILVER

[BALLS TO THE WALLS]

Those balls are big, black and hot!

[Mr. Bill]

This is going to provide months of entertainment. I can see the birds getting confused and maybe hurt, trying to land on these things. Then the global warming issues as mentioned above will find a devoted audience of malcontents, then, as they accumulate algae, the stink will set it, then, the leaching of plasticizers,(again, as mentioned above), then somebody is going to discover that the whole thing originated when some DWP official's husband, who owns a toy store, discovered the Chinese factory that makes toy plastic balls had sent him a boatload in the wrong color, so now what? Milo Minderbinder to the rescue!

O boy!

[Basket Balls]

Who's going to clean them dirty balls???

[Harry N. Utbag]

Don't orphan the balls!

[Eric Walker]

If these were put in the ocean, we'd have a massive case of salty balls.

[Eliza]

Did they run out of blue balls? :)

[jerry]

amazing how many ignorant posts go up on here before the full story comes out. does everyone think that dwp really didn't think this through, that they didn't test this solution first, that they didn't research the environmental impact beforehand? if they hadn't the EPA would be all over them. furthermore, the city doesn't just toss it's funding monies around to anyone with a hair-brained idea. it is a little unnerving that the article says a full story is on the way, why not wait until that story is ready to say anything at all? that would eliminate all this un-informed speculation and inappropriate gut reactions. but at the same time, it's an interesting story with some great pictures so I can't blame them for putting it up, some of you readers just need to chill with your comments.

[jerry]

amazing how many ignorant posts go up on here before the full story comes out. does everyone think that dwp really didn't think this through, that they didn't test this solution first, that they didn't research the environmental impact beforehand? if they hadn't the EPA would be all over them. furthermore, the city doesn't just toss it's funding monies around to anyone with a hair-brained idea. it is a little unnerving that the article says a full story is on the way, why not wait until that story is ready to say anything at all? that would eliminate all this un-informed speculation and inappropriate gut reactions. but at the same time, it's an interesting story with some great pictures so I can't blame them for putting it up, some of you readers just need to chill with your comments.

[Dave9]

Does anyone have any actual facts about the type of plastics these balls are made of and whether they will actually leach chemicals? If not, then quit with the ignorant knee-jerk reactionism, it makes environmental concern look bad.

[Doug W]

10-1 the 'balls' are all stolen in less than a week!!

[FlyN]

The black balls are probably made out of lead paint made from China! That what happens when you low-bid! haha!

[Been there Done that]

This is not going to go well. I know they want black to keep the sun from reacting with bromines, but now they have created a top notch solar collector with a great heat sink under it (the water) and are going to see what happens when skyrocketing water temps deplete the oxygen. It's not going to be pretty.

[Inbred Jed]

Is this a hoax? Look at the picture of the DWP workers pouring the balls out of the bag. The balls near the bag have shadows on their left sides. The balls near the water have shadows on their right. Photoshop broom job?

[mr. bill]

>> does everyone think that dwp really didn't think this through,

Remember that high school they tried to build on top of a toxic waste dump? How much did we spend on that, 230 million or so? My goodness, I'm amazed at how some people STILL have so much faith in governement.