Restoring anything as big as a lake, is likely to require more than one approach. While flexible liners are a great solution when dealing with erosion and seepage issues in any kind of lake, these impermeable materials can be impractical to use over every square foot of the ground. Instead, most restoration projects focus on install liners in specific parts of the lake to maximize the benefits without having to disrupt the entire natural environment. Manmade lakes are much more likely to utilize an entire bottom liner as a seamless layer. Whether the entire lake needs lining or just parts of it, BTL Liners has the products to match the challenges of installation.
Widespread Seepage and Water Level Issues
When a lake simply can’t hold the right water level or continues to affect nearby soil with constant water seepage, lining the entire lake may be required. Trying to avoid lining a lake because of its size or the cost, when it’s the only solution, will only lead to continuing problems. Only a flexible and impermeable geomembrane, such as the RPE liners we fabricate here at BTL Liners, will completely control seepage on a large scale. Other attempts at seepage control, like using products made of bentonite clay or vegetable oil, will only slow down water loss, but not stop it. Many lakes already lose enough water to evaporation and therefore struggle to stay filled during dry seasons or droughts. Putting in a whole lake liner as part of an extensive restoration project can stabilize water levels, control losses, and prevent seepage from threatening the foundations of nearby structures.
Watershed Erosion Control
Watershed management is often the most important step in lake restoration because it has the opportunity to greatly reduce sediment, nutrients, and contaminants entering the water. However, it’s also a challenge because it’s usually spread out over hundreds of acres of both publicly and privately-owned land. Putting together a comprehensive plan to reduce runoff across this large of an area can feel impossible. However, deploying durable liners in small amounts, at locations where nutrients are accumulating or soil is eroding, can make all the difference. Twenty different small liner installations across the watershed can make a massive improvement in the water quality without the need to install any of the material at the lake itself.
Bank Stabilization
Serious erosion along water banks is often created by a combination of waves breaking on the shore, wind scouring at any material covering the banks, and foot traffic around the lake’s edges. Putting in flexible liner material can prevent all three of these issues and stabilize the banks for years to come. Liner materials like RPE can be used with other efforts like armoring without concern, because the material is tough enough to withstand its weight. It’s also safe for buried installation, making the lake look completely natural. If the banks erode a little and the liner is exposed, choosing a UV resistant material like RPE will give you plenty of time to restore the cover material without worrying about damage.
Inlet and Outlet Development
Lakes are often connected to larger storm water retention areas to absorb runoff without allowing flooding of occupied areas. Yet, adding new and unnatural inlets can result in erosion and scouring effects that change the underwater profile of the lake. Erosion or damage at inlet areas can result in a lack of water circulation throughout the lake, in addition to clogging up any filters or air diffusers along the bottom. Installing durable liners can help protect delicate inlets as water flows over the area; especially during flooding or periods of unusually heavy flow. Outlet areas that process the overflow of a lake also deserve impermeable liners as well. Outlet pipes can scour away soil and let water escape, rather than infiltrate the soil slowly. Lining the entire outlet area turns it into a secure form of secondary containment that won’t be compromised during the worst storm events.
Sediment Containment
One unusual part of lake restoration is the removal of potentially hazardous sludge and sediment that needs its own contained disposal area. This waste is often too wet and voluminous to go to a standard solid waste landfill, so it’s usually disposed of in a dedicated pit. This pit must be lined and then covered with an equally impermeable cover before being capped with thick layers of soil. Tough liners, that will last for decades, are required for the buried storage cells often created during extensive lake restoration projects where industrial waste has accumulated.
Of course, this is just a small sample of the many situations that call for impermeable geomembrane liners. Lake restoration is full of opportunities to control seepage, prevent erosion, stabilize loose soil, and redirect water, all of which are best accomplished with the use of a flexible liner. Turn to BTL Liners to find custom fabrication services that can be adapted to the largest lake projects in the world.
