A search for a new location led to the village of Gilboa, New York, which was purchased and its residents evacuated through condemnation.

Put into service in 1926,[3] the Schoharie Reservoir provides nine million people with approximately 15-16 percent of their annual water supply needs.

Beginning in December 2006 eighty post-tensioned anchoring cables were installed through holes drilled in the dam into bedrock below, bringing it up to state standards.

During this overhaul, residents nearby complained that their tap water had turned a brownish color, perhaps due to the intense drilling into the earth to anchor the dam.

Schoharie County planned and authorized the Gilboa Dam Failure Outdoor Warning System, which was installed by Mid-State Communications.

[6] Estimated to cost $350 million, the project will add significant mass to the dam, install floodgates, and include a large tunnel bypass allowing water to be released safely from the reservoir into Schoharie Creek.

[7] On August 28, 2011, after receiving as much as 12 inches (300 mm) of rainfall from Hurricane Irene, the Gilboa Dam was placed in a level B situation.