until March 12, 2019. Mitigation Beginning in 2008, millions of floating plastic shade balls were dropped on reservoirs to prevent evaporative losses and enhance water quality. An instance of this was performed on the Los Angeles reservoir in 2014. The shade balls were supposed to be the most cost-effective way to cover the body of water amongst all the available options. One of the concerns with this method, however, was the amount of water required to make the shade balls themselves. Scientists determined that the amount of time that the shade balls need to be deployed for the water costs in production to be balanced is between one and two and a half years. In 2018 the PBS News Hour reviewed the use of the balls, stating that since their deployment in 2014 the shade balls should have surpassed their water cost in the water they have saved. Long-term mitigation Voters' approval of the Proposition 1 water bond in 2014 has been interpreted as an eagerness to add flexibility to California's water system. The 2014 Proposition 1 allocated almost 8 million dollars towards various projects related to the conservation and quality of California’s water. The money was supposed to be divided into various categories to distribute the improvement of the state’s entire water system. Four years after this passed, only about 80 percent of the budget has been spent on the improvements laid out in the bill. In early 2016, Los Angeles County began a proactive cloud-seeding program. Cloud-seeding is the process of emitting specific chemicals into the sky usually from the ground or a plane. This is supposed to create an environment with increased rainfall given certain prerequisite weather conditions. Even though many Americans find this process to be almost superstitious, there is science to support its legitimacy. However, rainfall studies have shown rainfall to improve by around 5 to 15 percent in optimal weather conditions. The issue at hand is whether or not the cost of the operation is worth it with the amount of improvement and the reliability. See also 2012–13 North American drought 2020–23 North American drought Droughts in California Climate change in California North Pacific High References Droughts in the United States California California California California California California California 2011-2017 Drought