The old dam had deteriorated and the water level was kept low to prevent it from failing.

The dam is owned by the United States Bureau of Reclamation.

The dam and reservoir were created to reduce flows into the reclaimed wetlands of Tule Lake.

The reservoir created by the dam has a very large surface area, 25,760 acres (104.2 km2), and its average depth at maximum capacity is only about 20 feet (6 m), so it has a very high rate of evaporation.

This is a problem since the dam now provides water for irrigation in the eastern half of the Klamath Basin.