Caviar in Silver Lake?

If you live in Silver Lake then you should know about the 400,000 plastic balls that were dropped into the Ivanhoe Reservoir on Monday. Sound like a dirty prank? Actually, the balls are there to perform a very important function: keeping the water drinkable this summer.

When sunlight mixes with the bromide and chlorine in the water it creates a reaction that produces a toxic chemical known as carcinogen bromate and it's potentially very harmful.

Reservoirs that are open to daylight aren't the norm these days but when higher levels of bromate were found city officials knew that something had to be done quickly to keep the water safe. Several options were considered but in the end the funny little orbs saved the day.