Water sports, fishing, boating, camping, and hiking are common throughout the area, as well as the Sequoia National Forest.

During the construction of the dam and reservoir the towns of Lake Isabella and Kernville both had to be moved to higher ground.

Below Isabella Dam, the Kern River flows southwest through approximately 30 miles (48 km) of a canyon, locally known as Kern Canyon, with many steep cliffs and turns along the southern edge of the Greenhorn Mountains, roughly 15 miles (24 km) east of Bakersfield.

Bakersfield and about 350,000 acres (140,000 ha) of farm land and oil fields in the Kern River region are protected by the project.

Their study also showed that an average benefit to irrigation and existing power facilities of $185,000 ($2.5 million today) could be gained as well.

The canal for the Borel project diverts water from 5.5 miles (8.9 km) upstream of Isabella Dam.

Officials determined that it would be necessary to restrict the maximum reservoir elevation to 20 feet (6.1 m) below the spillway, or normal "full" pool.

The Lower Kern River was also running higher than normal, and flowing at up to 20 miles per hour (32 km/h) in some parts.

State Route 178, which travels through the canyon between Bakersfield and Lake Isabella, became unstable, and one lane was closed due to the high water levels.

Emergency management officials warned that if Isabella Dam were to fail when the reservoir was full, a large part of Bakersfield would be inundated within 2 to 4 hours.

On March 12, 2008, local officials brought in a team of emergency response experts, and began work on an evacuation plan in case Isabella Dam were to fail.

[14] The Corps released a Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) on March 23, 2012, reporting their plans for the future of the dam.

The plans included structural improvements in order to reduce the risk to the public and property from floods, earthquakes, and seepage.

Existing downstream water would also be maintained in cooperation with power generators and irrigators, as is required in the initial relocation agreement in 1950.

The Corps began testing water flow of a model of the project that was built and was studied at Utah State University.

In 2013, following the signing of the Record of Decision in December 2012, the Corps entered the Pre-Construction Engineering and Design phase of the project.

An operating restriction is currently in place, limiting the lake's normal storage capacity, to reduce the risk of the seepage and seismic concerns while a permanent solution is investigated.