Natural landslide dams are usually short-lived, but some have been known to fail after long periods—131 years in the case of Lake Yashinkul in the former Soviet Union.

This prompted the United States Geological Survey to investigate the possibility that the Lake San Cristobal dam might fail.

[2] In the 1950s, the USGS studied Lake San Cristobal as a possible site for an artificial embankment dam.

Hinsdale County constructed a small rock and wooden dam at the lake outlet in 1954, but it began to deteriorate by the 1970s.

[5] The county has proposed a modification of the outlet structure which would allow the controlled storage and release of up to 960 acre-feet (1,180,000 m3) water.