[1] In 1800, a flood filled the Wadi Tumilat, which caused Timsah's banks to overflow and moved water south into the Bitter Lakes about nine miles (14 km) away.

[7][8] On March 4, 1863, the city of Ismailia, named in honor of the viceroy Ismail Pasha, arose on Lake Timsah's northern bank.

[5] Lake Timsah possibly first became a juncture for canal construction approximately 4,000 years ago during the Middle Kingdom of Egypt,[10] and was expanded by Darius I.

[12] Initial preparations included the construction of sheds to house 10,000 workers, steam sawmills, and importation of large quantities of wheelbarrows and wooden planks.

[12] 3,000 laborers dug a channel (Ismailia Canal) from the Nile to Lake Timsah in 1861 and 1862, which brought a fresh water supply to the area.

[6] Timsah's main source of fresh water was annual Nile flooding until the Aswan High Dam interrupted these flows in 1966, although groundwater also accounts for much of the lake's freshwater supply.

[6] In 2002, a study was conducted to check the concentrations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in fish and shellfish species that locals consume from the lake.