POSSUM KINGDOM LAKE – The craggy bottom of Possum Kingdom Lake inside Hell’s Gate is a little cleaner today, thanks to the efforts Sunday of dozens of scuba divers.

Fortunately for the members of Scuba International, based in the Dallas suburb of Carrollton, after another summer and Fourth of July celebration, they will have a reason to come out again next year to try and collect beer and soda cans, bottles and find a few things they might want to keep like a nice pair of shades.

Thirty-nine divers and 12 above-water helpers in seven boats descended on a windy and chilly PK Lake Sunday for an Earth Day collection of lake debris as part of Project AWARE (www.projectaware.org). This year was the second for the Metroplex group to come to the lake for a clean-up project.

It was an opportunity for a group of like-minded, water-loving people to spend a day doing what they like to do while trying to help protect and preserve water resources.

“It was a little chilly but I had a good time and hopefully helped out a little bit,” said diver Craig King of Dallas, who was one of the last out of the lake Sunday.

The group filled half a dozen large garbage bags with items that either fell from or were tossed overboard from boats – mainly cans and bottles – apparently items that could not have remained on boats and thrown away later in a proper trash can on shore.

A few pairs of sunglasses were found, and a large piece of Styrofoam that had apparently broken off a boat dock and settled on the lake bottom.

One diver almost left a new item in the lake – one of his flippers. It came off when he jumped in, and he was unable to find it. Luckily, a trip to a dive shop to buy a new set was averted after another diver found and retrieved it.

Finding anything was a big challenge for the divers on a day of gray, overcast skies that prevented sunlight from penetrating very far into the murky waters. Those with flashlights had better luck in their trash hunt. Others had to rely on skimming along the bottom, feeling around for debris.

“You couldn’t see anything,” said diver Derek Veillon, of Frisco. “I could see my gauges to about 20 feet. After that, nothing. I couldn’t even see any fish.”

At 20 feet, the divers weren’t yet to the bottom of the lake. That came at 30-35 feet, where a water temperature of 57 degrees Fahrenheit was recorded by one diver.

For perhaps the more experienced divers, the water temperature wasn’t too bad.

“It wasn’t bad,” Veillon said. “It was cold once you first got in, but after a while, it was like a swimming pool.”

Several divers found the water a little too cold and opted not to stay in long, emerging from the lake shedding their wet suits and shivering on the decks until they could warm up.

Tim Smartt, a scuba diving instructor for Scuba Point at PK Lake who volunteered Sunday as one of the boat operators, said a wet suit theoretically allows water in that is warmed by the diver’s body temperature. Some divers either were unable to warm the water in their suits or chose not to wait. Some who went in without headgear or gloves came out of the water wishing they had.

“A month ago (the water) was about 45 degrees,” he said. “It’s warming up quick.”

Marc Corbeil had another reason he was glad to be wearing gloves.

“I found a lot of cans and bottles, which surprised me people bring bottles to the lake,” he said. “One of the bottles I found was broken. I was glad I had gloves on.”

Smartt said sometimes divers find pull tabs from cans that haven’t been used in the U.S. in more than two decades, replaced by today’s stay tabs to reduce litter (which isn’t that effective when the entire can is tossed into a lake, river or along a roadside) and reduce injuries the pull tabs caused.

Hell’s Gate was chosen to clean up because of its popularity, a scenic place on the lake where boaters like to anchor and party inside its cove.

“On the Fourth of July this place is packed,” said Smartt. “You can’t hardly get in here.”

After several hours on and in the water, the group returned to shore and enjoyed an afternoon cookout before heading home.

Brazos River Authority Lake Ranger Robert Box was impressed with the amount of garbage the divers pulled from the Hell’s Gate lake bottom.

Box said he hoped the day’s event will bring the group’s divers and others back to PK Lake, which he said he experienced fewer divers in recent years, citing more lakes around Dallas-Fort Worth offering diving opportunities. But most, he said, don’t provide the diving opportunities that PK offers.

“You can go to 80 feet in places here, and usually the lake is pretty clear,” he said.

Corbeil was diving with his daughter and son, Christy and Tim.

“It can be an expensive hobby,” he said.

Smartt said beginners can invest $1,200 to $1,500 for a suit and the minimal amount of necessary breathing gear like a tank, regulator and gauges.

“You can spend that much on a lot of hobbies,” said Smartt. “And, if you take care of your equipment, it can last a long time. Your suit can last 10 to 15 years.”

Of course, there are new technologies and styles that came out in the form of suits or gauges. Talk among some divers focused on digital wireless gauges and how well they worked. They received mixed reviews.

“Yeah, there are people who always go out and buy the latest thing,” said King.