The dam's 17,300-acre-foot (21,300,000 m3) capacity would allow it to hold back roughly 2+1⁄4 inches (57 mm) of runoff from the 141 square miles (370 km2) of catchment upstream.

The flood control basin is a large and undeveloped area in the center of the Valley, used mostly for wildlife refuge and recreation.

[2] Behind the dam, the Sepulveda Basin is home to several large recreation areas including Woodley Park, a model aircraft field, The Japanese Garden, a wildlife refuge,[3] a water reclamation plant, and an armory.

[4] It is a location for films (such as Escape from New York), music videos (such as BTS's "On (Kinetic Manifesto)" They Might Be Giants' "The Statue Got Me High" and Keedy's "Save Some Love"), and car commercials.

Some of the early flood control efforts included smaller areas of channelization and the planning for needed reservoirs.

The Army Corps of Engineers took a lead role in channelizing the river and constructing several dams which would create flood control basins behind them.

Channelization began in 1938, and by 1960 the project was completed to form the present 51-mile (82 km) engineered waterway.

[15] The Sepulveda Basin Wildlife Reserve is an ongoing habitat restoration project, with locally native California plants.

[20] Native trees include Fremont's cottonwood (Populus fremontii), Coast live oak (Quercus agrifolia ), Valley Oak (Quercus lobata), California Black Walnut (Juglans californica), and California sycamore (Platanus racemosa).

[21] The bikeway "cruises around the Balboa Sports Center and several golf courses, and has several open areas with spectacular views of into the mountains to the north and east.

The bike path can seasonally have burr-bearing weeds, which may cause flats in less durable tires.

It is open for recreational non-motorized boating during the summer, with restricted access to some protected wildlife areas along the banks.