LA is dumping millions of plastic balls into its reservoir to tackle the drought

Re:LA is dumping millions of plastic balls into its reservoi... by elithrar on Thursday August 13, 2015 @04:55AM (#10052898)

> One would think that a tarp would use less material and be easier to manufacture than the equivalent number of plastic balls.

How do you suspend the tarp? What about when it rains on the tarp, increasing its weight substantially? Repair the tarp when sections get damaged? UV resistance over its lifetime?

Using barges/boats and dragging it from shore-to-shore is very slow going, and any suitably durable tarp (i.e. waxed canvas or some plastic) is going to be HEAVY.

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Re:LA is dumping millions of plastic balls into its reservoi... by houssc on Thursday August 13, 2015 @05:02AM (#10052929)

Repair, weight, suspension and deployment seems like the hardest issues to tackle.

The tarp would ideally need to be reflective, like a white roof on modern buildings. The rain issue is the easiest one to solve, since the tarp could be slightly perforated to allow drainage.

I wonder if a permanent structure over the lake would be easier than a tarp? Like literally building a roof.

Either way the balls seem like a solid approach.

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