Background Research

The Drought in California

As you might have heard, drought has hit California hard over the last several years. Once lush valleys that account for most of America's food production are now dry and dusty and lakes and reservoirs sit empty. Exceptional drought now covers more than half of California with the entire state under some level of drought.  By and large, this is the largest environmental event in US history since the Dust Bowls of the 1930s.

The Drought as a Human Rights Issue

Not only is this drought having an environmental impact, but many Californian's believe that this is a Human rights issue. The State of California passed into law in 2013 a bill that declares safe and affordable drinking water as a human right and guarantees it to its citizens. Unfortunately, the diminishing water supply has meant that Californians have needed to cut back their water consumption. However, quite notably,  California's almond farmers and cattle ranchers have not had to cut their water consumption. It take a gallon of water to produce a single almond and 106 gallons to produce a pound of beef. Agriculture accounts for more than 80% of the water consumption in the State. As less and less rain falls on California and its agricultural industry fails to reduce its consumption, many feel that it is a violation of their right to safe and clean drinking water as their water supply is being preempted in favor of water for agricultural purposes. 

Why Reservoirs Covers?

A few months back a video went viral, showing more than 80 million small plastic spheres, called 'shade balls,' being dumped onto a reservoir in Los Angels.  The LA Department of Water and Power wanted to cover the reservoir in order to reduce evaporation. These spheres, approximately 4 inches (100mm) in diameter cover approximately 90% of the surface area of the reservoir. They cost more than 35 million dollars. Which works out to about $34 per square meter of surface area. In this project, we hope to reduce that cost as well as increase the efficiency of the spheres, allowing the benefits of reservoir covers to more accessible to more communities.