Lakemakers

In the middle of a sun-scorched desert, in thirsty earth so deep-down dry that it could soak up Niagara Falls, the blue waters of a sailboat-dotted lake ripple and lap at the parched shore. A mirage? No--the product of a burgeoning new business: lakemaking.

The main problem of lakemaking in arid areas is not in getting the water--it is almost always to be had by deep drilling --but in holding it. The new solution is a lake lining of seepage-proof polyethylene plastic only six millimeters thick (asphalt and clay break up under water after a time; cement is too expensive). The two top companies in the field, both in California, are Palco, Inc. of Indio and Kepner Plastics of Torrance. In a bulldozed lake basin, plastic is laid down in strips up to 40 ft. wide and 400 ft. long at the rate of about half an acre a day. The strips are sealed together (one company uses heat, the other mastic and tape). The resulting seams are buried in twelve-inch trenches and covered with dirt to anchor the liner to the lake floor. Recreational lakes need an additional six-inch layer of earth to protect the plastic bottom from being holed by boat anchors and fish spears.

Both lakemaking companies are beginning to receive inquiries and orders from dry spots as far afield as Australia and Trinidad. Biggest splash so far has been Kepner's 20-acre lake at California City, which was completed last year at a cost of $45,000; Palco is currently negotiating for two other California lakes of 80 to 100 acres each.

Theoretically there is no limit to the size of an artificial lake. Says Palco President John M. Blatt: "We could line the Sahara if someone would pay for it." Lakemaker Blatt sees an enormous future for man-made recreational lakes. "Even in Southern California, Arizona and New Mexico, every town now can have its own lake for swimming, fishing and boating." he says. "This will create a new market for boatmakers and make life more pleasant for arid-zone aquatic-sports fans, many of whom now travel hundreds of miles just to get wet."

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