The CLUI recently installed a Sound-Emitting Device in the middle of Owens Lake, California. The self-contained mechanism automatically emits the sound of gently lapping water for a few hours every night.

Owens lake is a dry lake in the Owens Valley, famous as the area that was robbed of its water by the developers of Los Angeles, starting with the opening of the Los Angeles Aqueduct in 1913. The lake, once filled with enough water to float steam ships on it, is now one hundred square miles of alkali dust.

The sound of running water emitted by the device starting a few hours after sunset, is meant to be a ghostly nocturnal presence, only potentially heard, as the remoteness of the area does not encourage visitation. The device, mounted on a steel pole which was firmly affixed to the dry lake bed, has a solar panel mounted on its top to recharge the amplification system and tape loop. The tape begins a few hours after sun-down, and plays until the battery runs out, three to six hours later. The battery is then recharged by the sun the following day.

The installation, which took place in October, is part of the on-going Sound-Emitting Device (SED) Program, a continuing campaign to introduce specific sounds into selected environments. The next SED installation is planned for the Death Valley area in February, 1996.