[2] The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) began construction of Success Dam in 1958 and finished in 1961, with the official dedication on May 18, 1962.

In 2006, new regulations were passed that limited long-term water storage in the reservoir to 28,800 acre-feet (0.0355 km3), 35% of capacity.

[4] A proposed $500 million project would increase the thickness of the dam by 350 feet (110 m) so that it could better withstand a quake in the region.

According to the Los Angeles Times, "it was not clear where federal officials intended to send the water that was being released from the dams."

Outflows from the dam discharge into the Tulare Lake bed almost 200 miles (320 km) north of Los Angeles, and there is no infrastructure to deliver Tule River water to Southern California.