Success Dam
| Success Dam | |
|---|---|
 Location of Success Dam in California
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| Country | United States |
| Location | Porterville, California |
| Coordinates | 36°03′38″N 118°55′09″W / 36.06056°N 118.91917°WCoordinates: 36°03′38″N 118°55′09″W / 36.06056°N 118.91917°W |
| Construction began | 1958 |
| Opening date | 1961 |
| Dam and spillways | |
| Type of dam | Embankment |
| Impounds | Tule River |
| Height | 156 ft (48 m) |
| Length | 3,490 ft (1,060 m) |
| Elevation at crest | 652.5 ft (198.9 m) |
| Dam volume | 5,560,000 cu yd (4,250,000 m3) |
| Reservoir | |
| Creates | Lake Success |
| Total capacity | 82,300 acre·ft (101,500,000 m3) |
| Catchment area | 393 sq mi (1,020 km2) |
| Surface area | 2,450 acres (990 ha) |
Success Dam is a dam across the Tule River in Tulare County, California in the United States. Serving mainly for flood control and irrigation, the dam is an earthen embankment structure 156 feet (48 m) high and 3,490 feet (1,060 m) long. The dam lies about 5 miles (8.0 km) east of Porterville and impounds Lake Success, which has a capacity of 82,300 acre feet (0.1015 km3).
The dam was initially authorized by the Flood Control Act of 1944 as part of an extensive system of dams and levees to provide flood protection in the Tulare Lake basin of the southern San Joaquin Valley. 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.
The USACE found in 1999 that the alluvial deposits that form the foundations of the dam were unstable and that the dam would be at a high risk of failure in the event of an earthquake. 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. 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.
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