The most effective way to separate the two sections at the blank line would be by inserting a heading about the topic of the second section. This would provide a clear indication of the shift in focus from the initial description of the shade balls and their intended benefits to the new study's findings regarding their actual water savings and environmental impact.
In 2015, the world watched as a video of 96 million “shade balls” getting dumped into the Los Angeles Reservoir went viral. The purpose of the balls: to improve water quality and save water.
But a new study raises an interesting question: Could saving water in the Los Angeles Reservoir come at the cost of consuming water in other parts of world?
At the time, Californians faced a record-setting drought, and conserving water was on everyone’s minds. Mandatory water restrictions led to brown lawns and shorter showers.
The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power said the shade balls could keep contaminants out of the water and reduce the evaporation of the reservoir by 85 to 90 percent during a drought. The officials said the annual savings could amount to up to 300 million gallons of water, enough to supply drinking water to 8,100 people.
But a team from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Imperial College London and University of Twente in the Netherlands reported Monday that it may take more water to make the shade balls than what they save. To offset this loss, the shade balls must sit on the Los Angeles Reservoir between 1 to 2.5 years.
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The creators of shade balls originally used them to prevent chemical treatments in the reservoir from reacting with sunlight and creating bromate, which is a carcinogen regulated by the EPA. California began deploying shade balls in 2008 as a cost-effective way to reduce bromate levels and also prevent algae growth.
The LA Department of Water and Power picked shade balls over other, more expensive covers for the city’s biggest reservoir that would have cost an extra $250 million dollars.
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Use the passage to answer the question.
Which is the most effective way to separate the two sections at the blank line? (1 point)
by inserting a heading about the topic of the second section
by using captions to summarize the article
by using bullets to reorganize the first section
by including an infographic of university studies on water pollution
1 answer