[2] It impounds the Bear River for hydroelectric power generation and municipal water supply.

It is owned and operated by Pacific Gas and Electric Company, the largest private owner of hydroelectric facilities in the United States, making it one of the company's 174 dams.

The reservoir it creates, Bear River Reservoir, has a normal water surface of 149 acres (60 ha) and has a maximum capacity of 6,818 acre-feet (8,410,000 m3).

[3] Recreation includes fishing, swimming, and camping,[4] however the Upper Bear River Reservoir can only be accessed by foot, and is mostly unused by the public.

The Lower Bear River Reservoir and its own dam lie immediately downstream and to the west, also owned by PG&E.