Los Angeles lakes and reservoirs: they just seem to call out for thousands of balls. The Silver Lake Reservoir got them. MacArthur Park Lake is getting them. And now the Los Angeles Reservoir in Sylmar has them—96 million of 'em. Balls for days! Mayor Eric Garcetti helped release the last 20,000 shade balls yesterday as the final piece of a huge project to protect the water quality. (LA's recently been working on covering and undergrounding its reservoirs to meet federal standards.) The shade balls are just cheap, black, plastic balls that protect against evaporation, dust, rain, birds and other wildlife, and chemical reactions that can make the water carcinogenic. According to Councilmember Mitch Englander, as quoted by the City News Service, the balls can "reduce evaporation each year by nearly 300 million gallons, enough to provide drinking water for 8,100 people for a full year." Watch the mesmerizing videos (and if you still can't get enough, see Ivanhoe Reservoir get balled back in 2008):

LA just completed a project to save 300 million gallons of water by deploying shade balls on the surface of the LA reservoir. These shade balls are saving our city over $250 million while keeping our water clean & safe. A video posted by Mayor Eric Garcetti (@lamayorsoffice) on Aug 10, 2015 at 4:45pm PDT

These shade balls are saving our city over $250 million while keeping our water clean & safe. #SavetheDropLA pic.twitter.com/KNTygTUGM1 — LA Mayor's Office (@LAMayorsOffice) August 11, 2015



· Balls Out: Ivanhoe Reservoir Gets Stocked, Bird Confusion Likely Coming [Curbed LA]