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Depends on the lake. There is a reservoir near LA covered in millions of black balls. Apparently this is a side effect of water quality regulation, direct sunli
by pacala 7y ago
Depends on the lake. There is a reservoir near LA covered in millions of black balls. Apparently this is a side effect of water quality regulation, direct sunlight triggers a chemical reaction that produces harmful byproducts. As a bonus, evaporation is also reduced, which matters in semi-arid climates like Southern California.
https://www.veritasium.com/videos/2019/5/23/why-are-96000000-black-balls-on-this-reservoir https://www.veritasium.com/videos/2019/5/23/why-are-96000000...
- Endy 7y agoIf direct sunlight triggers a harmful reaction in your water, you need to reconsider what's in your water.
- dumbfoundded 7y agoNot really. Bromide and chlorine are okay for humans to consume. Sunlight turns these into to bromate which is a carcinogen. https://www.sciencealert.com/here-s-what-s-really-going-on-with-those-black-balls-in-the-la-reservoir https://www.sciencealert.com/here-s-what-s-really-going-on-w...
- Endy 7y agoOkay, but do bromide and chlorine naturally occur in the water in that area? Or was it because of human meddling?
- gen3 7y agoIt's used in the water cleaning process to make it drinkable.
- Wowfunhappy 7y agoI'm not clear why it matters. Everything natural isn't necessarily good.
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]
- dredmorbius 7y agoThey are part of the water treatment process for municipal drinking water supplies. Though I'm not familiar with the specifics and details of this case (and have seen the Veritasium video describing the use), it's reasonable to assume that these treatments would be applied regardless, and the shade balls are an effective countermeasure.
- CydeWeys 7y agoCholera, dysentery, and many other waterborne diseases exist naturally in untreated water that hasn't been "meddled with" by humans. The death tolls of historical urban outbreaks shows that you would MUCH rather drink the treated water.
- MertsA 7y agoSalts are everywhere, there's nothing wrong with trace amounts in water.
- dumbfoundded 7y agoMaybe you should just read the article I linked. If you have more questions, then you can google those and figure it out. If through your process of learning, you come up with an understanding of any situation, then you should form an opinion. I don't mean to be rude but your question is easily answerable by reading the article I linked (and it's a short one). If you're not going to take the 30 seconds to respect my comment, I will show none to your uninformed opinion.
- pbhjpbhj 7y agoI saw that story surface again recently, it's a perennial pleaser. Those balls are used to cover lakes of processed water which is eventually used as drinking water; that's not a living lake. This NatGeo article from 2015, https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2015/08/150812-shade-balls-los-angeles-California-drought-water-environment/ https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2015/08/150812-shade... , notes for example that they kill algae and microorganisms, and inhibit water-fowl. I'm almost certain they'd kill lake-born fish too, preventing growth of water-borne oxygenators (which also serve as a food source, and place for eg snails to live). Whilst the purpose appears to be to prevent plant and animal life, at least in part, it's possible a stable eco-system might still survive; but it seems highly unlikely to me -- do you have something to show me I'm wrong in my assumption?
- pacala 7y agoWhile I'm not an expert, I suspect you're right. Point being that some lakes serve a different purpose than supporting a thriving ecosystem.