Wisconsin community drained of lake, commerce

(CNN) -- When the water of Lake Delton ripped through the highway and drained into the Wisconsin River this week, so did the lifeline for much of the surrounding community.

Lake Delton Village and Wisconsin Dells, the self-professed "waterpark capital of the world," are home to about 5,000 residents. But the area's motels, resorts and vacation homes can accommodate more than 10 times that, according to the visitors bureau.

Innkeepers, restaurateurs and other business owners were getting ready for the typically bustling tourist season this week when torrential rains sent the 267-acre lake rushing through an embankment propping up Highway A. The manmade lake sucked a 200-foot swath of highway and a half-dozen homes into the Wisconsin with it.

"I was on the water when I realized the plug had been pulled," said Steve Zowin, who was towing a capsized pontoon boat when he noticed the water level quickly diminishing. "It drained like a bathtub." Watch a report from the lake »

Zowin and his wife, Kathy, have owned Lake Delton Watersports for almost three decades. In addition to running a marina, the couple offers parasail rides and rents boats. Personal watercraft and ski boats are their most popular wares, he said.

"My gross income will be reduced by about 75 percent, and that's huge," he said Wednesday. "It's a big step backwards for someone who's been in business for 29 years."

Zowin, 56, says that most of the tourists hail from metropolises like Chicago, Illinois; St. Paul/Minneapolis, Minnesota; and Madison and Milwaukee, Wisconsin -- all "within a gas tank of the Dells." They start trickling in on Father's Day, and tourism booms between Independence Day and mid-August, he said.

Like many business owners around Lake Delton, Zowin is seeing canceled reservations from disenchanted visitors who will be spending their summers elsewhere.

Asked whether visitors were canceling reservations at her lakeside resort, one owner who didn't want to give her name replied, "Every day, many."

Thomas Brown, who owns Port Vista, a popular burger and steak joint on the lake, said that one of his resort-owner friends has refunded $10,000 in deposits for canceled reservations. The friend has closed his resort until at least July, Brown said.

Brown, 49, who has owned the bar and restaurant for 15 years, said business hasn't been hit hard yet.

"The first couple of days has been absolutely packed because of all the people coming by to look at the lake and stopping by for a burger or steak," he said, adding that he doesn't expect business to boom for long. "I think when people see what they have to see, it's going to be not so good."

Some business owners who aren't on the lakefront are still trying to gauge what effect the drained lake will have on them.

Del-Bar is a popular seafood and steak restaurant near the lake on Wisconsin Dells Parkway. It's so popular, in fact, that actor Johnny Depp and director Michael Mann recently stopped in during filming of their upcoming movie "Public Enemies," owner Jeff Wimmer said.

Wimmer said his restaurant, which he has owned for 30 years, may be more resilient than lakefront businesses because he relies more on Wisconsin Dells locals. The 66-year-old knows that the summer brings hungry tourists; it's just too early to tell how many of them have been deterred by the dry lake bed.

"We're anticipating that it's going to affect us, but it's too early to tell right now," Wimmer said.

How long the lake will remain dry is also a question. Business owners say, some skeptically, that there are efforts afoot to refill the lake by mid-July.

Delton Oaks Resort ran a warning on its Web site to potential guests, explaining that there was no timetable for refilling the lake and repairing the highway. But the resort's owners showed they still have a sense of humor.

"We at Delton Oaks Resort are 'make lemonade' kind of people, so we will be adding terrific beach volleyball and horseshoe courts in the near future. And, of course, building sand castles on the beach will be big this year," the site quipped. "For all you dog lovers, as soon as the last of the lake bed has dried up, we will have the biggest dog park you've ever seen."

Even if the lake is refilled quickly, business owners like Zowin and Brown fear that the lake's splendid fishing might not make a rapid rebound.

The lake was home to white and largemouth bass, walleye, crappie, bluegill and perch, but those fish are now in the Wisconsin River after their habitat burst through the Highway A embankment.

"Fishing might be gone for the next four or five years," Brown predicted.

Business owners around Lake Delton say they hope to bounce back sooner, perhaps by next summer, but this summer may be a wash.

"Once in a while, the more serious ramifications -- mostly financial -- they hit me, and I'm flooded with a few emotions," Zowin said. "It's going to hurt, but I'll survive."

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