--- title: Shade Balls Graphic Shows How Reservoirs Are Being Helped description: In an effort to protect the city's water supply, millions of small black balls have been dumped into the Los Angeles Reservoir. canonical: https://time.com/3998554/shade-balls-graphic/ author: Alexandra Sifferlin article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-08-14T19:02:46.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T04:50:37.074Z article:section: Science og:title: This Graphic Shows How Plastic Balls Are Saving L.A. From Drought og:description: In an effort to protect the city's water supply, millions of small black balls have been dumped into the Los Angeles Reservoir. og:url: https://time.com/3998554/shade-balls-graphic/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: This Graphic Shows How Plastic Balls Are Saving L.A. From Drought twitter:description: In an effort to protect the city's water supply, millions of small black balls have been dumped into the Los Angeles Reservoir. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # This Graphic Shows How Plastic Balls Are Saving L.A. From Drought ## Video: Los Angeles Throws 96M Balls At California's Drought Problem [Watch (HLS stream): Los Angeles Throws 96M Balls At California's Drought Problem](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/7Yn2cIV0.m3u8) (1:35)  _Published 2015-08-13. Millions of spheres, 4 inches in diameter, are meant to slow water evaporation from Los Angeles reservoirs by simply floating on the water._ by [Alexandra Sifferlin](/author/alexandra-sifferlin/) and [Heather Jones](/author/heather-jones/) Aug 14, 2015 7:02 PM CUT by [Alexandra Sifferlin](/author/alexandra-sifferlin/) and [Heather Jones](/author/heather-jones/) Aug 14, 2015 7:02 PM CUT The city of Los Angeles has dumped millions of small black balls into the city’s reservoirs in an effort to protect the city’s water supply. The “shade balls” are intended to maintain good water quality and protect against evaporation. It’s one solution to the state of California’s record-breaking drought, and could save the city millions in both water and costs. “As the drought continues, it has never been more important to focus on innovative ways to maintain the highest quality drinking water for our 4 million residents, Los Angeles City Council Mitchell Englander said in a [statement](http://www.ladwpnews.com/go/doc/1475/2578586/MAYOR-GARCETTI-ANNOUNCES-COMPLETION-OF-INNOVATIVE-SHADE-BALL-COVER-PROJECT-AT-LOS-ANGELES-RESERVOIR "undefined"). But how do they work? Take a look at the graphic below and find out:  ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3998554/shade-balls-graphic/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3998554/shade-balls-graphic/"},"headline":"This Graphic Shows How Plastic Balls Are Saving L.A. 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