The lake is the brainchild of Ma'alot Mayor Shlomo Buhbut. Originally, he had arranged for three investors to pay for the project in return for the right to build hotels in the area, but first he had to have the land transferred from the moshav, which was using it for orchards. By the time the Israel Lands Administration had compensated the moshav and altered the land specifications, the stock market had crashed and the investors were no longer interested. The Jewish National Fund carried out the work instead, in cooperation with the Government Tourist Corporation and the local and regional councils. Ze'ev Kedem, director of public relations for the JNF in the north, said the lake covers approximately 50 dunams.
Plastic sheeting keeps the water from seeping into the ground.
The lake has been stocked with St. Peter's fish and seaweed, to keep the water clean, although no fishing is allowed. In the winter, the the lake fills with rainwater, and in the summer, the company which has the franchise for the lake has to buy water from Mekorot, the national water company. It has been allocated the water that was formerly used to irrigate the orchards at the site. At present, the lake has a depth of 1.6 meters, with a maximum depth of 2.1 meters planned. Eventually, Kedem said, the winter rains should supply about 50,000 cubic meters of water, which is the amount lost through evaporation in the summer.